Life or Death
by In The Name
Summary: "I'm always going to save you Lisbon." When Lisbon finds herself in a life or death situation, will Jane be able to keep his promise?
1. Picture Frame

**So this idea has been in my head for a while now. I finally finished the first chapter and although my plan was to write many chapters in advaance, I really wanted to know what your thoughts were for this story so here I am, posting it. I'm warning you, the updates will be few and far between so I apologize in advance for that. But I hope that you'll read my story nonetheless :D**

In Never Ending Turmoil

Lisbon looked up at the CBI building, wondering what this day would bring. She was quickly brought back from her own thoughts when her boyfriend, Michael, caressed her cheek, turning her head for a quick goodbye kiss.

"Have a good day," he said. "I'll see you at home." He then turned away sharply, practically running to his car. Something was up with him lately, and Lisbon decided to ask him about it later.

She went inside and was waiting for the elevator, when none other than Patrick Jane showed up beside her. He had a tray of coffee in his hands and was smiling that Cheshire cat grin. He was planning something, and Lisbon knew she probably wouldn't like the results. She felt her mood instantly drop and her signature scowl, reserved for Patrick Jane, set up residence on her face.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?" asked Jane.

"The state of my underwear is none of your business" Lisbon replied.

"Of course it is, my dear Teresa, seeing as we are going to be spending a lot of time together this week"

"What are you-" Lisbon's retort was cut off by the elevator doors opening. She quickly stepped into the elevator, trying to close the doors before Jane could get in, but he was fast, he knew she would try that, and he slipped into the elevator right before the doors closed.

"We're going to be busy this week so you should call your boyfriend, Michael right? I've never really liked that name, and cancel your dinner plans."

"What? I don't-"

"Yes you do, tomorrow night at the new restaurant on Lexington. Reservations are at 7:00, if I'm right." He was, but there was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of knowing it.

"What? No… I…Never mind. Why do you say we're going to be busy anyway?"

The elevator doors opened and they were walking into the bullpen.

"We've got a case"

"And how would you know if we had or didn't have a case?"

"Because he was up here when we got the call five minutes ago" said Cho.

xxxx

Ten minutes later, they were on the road, headed to San Francisco to check out the crime scene. They took two cars; Cho was driving one with Van Pelt and Rigsby, leaving Lisbon to be stuck with Jane, much to her annoyance. It was a long drive and Lisbon found herself lost in her thoughts about Michael and his strange behaviour. She had called him before leaving, letting him know that they had a case and they would be staying overnight until it was closed. Michael had seemed relieved, or maybe it just her being paranoid, when she had mentioned that it would probably take a week or so.

Lisbon was so wrapped up in her musings that she didn't realize that Jane was talking to her. She took a deep breath, not unnoticed by Jane, before tuning into what he was saying.

"I'm sorry what did you say?"

"Ah Lisbon, you really should be paying attention to the road instead of thinking about your relationship issues."

"I do NOT have relationship issues! And even if I did, they're none of your business!" Lisbon hated that he always seemed to know what she was thinking. He knew her so well and as much as she hated it, it was one of the things she loved about him. Wait, loved? She didn't love Jane; she couldn't, not when she was desperately trying to make her relationship with Michael work. Besides, he didn't think of her that way, he was too damaged from what happened to his first marriage to even think about a second. Wait a minute, now she was thinking about marriage? This was getting out of hand. Lisbon felt her cheeks getting warm and knew she was blushing. She just hoped that Jane didn't notice; which of course he did.

"Actually, I think that they are. You see, if you are bothered with your relationship issues, then your mood will be drastically affected and who will you take it out on? That's right, Me. So voilà, that's how it's my business." Jane smiled childishly at his logic. "And you're blushing, care to tell me why?"

"Why don't you just tell me why? You seem to know everything I'm thinking so why even ask?" Lisbon asked, exasperated. She wasn't in the mood and he knew that. She knew that he knew that so why wasn't he stopping?

"Well I didn't think you'd appreciate me voicing your inner most thoughts about me, but if you insist…"

"Alright that's enough." Lisbon said with a glare that told him to shut up or he'd be walking.

xxxx

"What do we have?" Lisbon asked as they arrived on scene. She was irritated because Jane hadn't ceased to annoy her for the whole drive up there. Lisbon did not appreciate him poking around her head and she often showed him that.

"Female victim, age 34, found dead by some bikers along the road. The victim's name is Tracie Juniper. She doesn't have any family in the area and no room mates. Last known address is at an apartment on Maine St." Cho said.

"Okay, go check it out. Take Rigsby with you. Van Pelt, check her records, financials, see what she was doing before she was murdered." Lisbon said. She walked up to the body where the coroner was. "Cause of death?"

"Exsanguination due to multiple lacerations. She was tortured before death, and there is evidence of sexual assault." said the coroner.

"Thanks." Lisbon said. "Jane! Anything?"

"This wasn't the killer's first time. I think that you'll find that there have been previous victims with the same M.O. Also, this is done by a man in his late thirties, early forties, he is attractive, very charming, and he likes to groom his victims before killing them. It was the boyfriend, but you won't find him because he's long gone by now and didn't tell anyone his real name." Jane said. "This man will not be satisfied and he will kill again if we don't catch him."

xxxx

After Lisbon and Jane interviewed the friends, they found that the boyfriend was indeed the most likely suspect. He'd taken her out on a date to an Italian restaurant, but when they confirmed that with the manager, he said that there were no reservations made by a man named Henry Gillis, the boyfriend. They headed back to the local Police Station to see if Van Pelt had made any progress.

"Van Pelt, what have you found?" Lisbon asked upon entering the bullpen.

"Her financials were clean; she had a job that paid the bills, nothing out of the ordinary. I ran background checks on the people you mentioned over the phone, her friends and the boyfriend. The only one that came up weird was the boyfriend." Van Pelt said.

"Let me guess, there's no record of a Henry Gillis?" Jane asked.

"Actually, there is." Van Pelt said. This shocked Jane, as he was usually never wrong. He stood there for a second with his mouth open while Lisbon fought back a chuckle. The man wasn't unfathomable. "But he was 78 years old when he died in 1981. So I don't think he's the guy we're looking for."

"Wow, I've lived to see the day when Patrick Jane is wrong." Lisbon said, momentarily lightening the mood.

"I wasn't wrong, I was half-wrong. There's a difference." Jane said.

"Sure there is." Lisbon said with a smirk. "Van Pelt, Dig deeper into the boyfriend's identity, the victim's friend said that he lived in apartment 243 on Huntington St."

"Will do boss." Van Pelt said.

At that moment, Lisbon's phone rang.

"Lisbon." She answered.

"It's Agent Hightower; there's been another murder one town over with the same M.O. Get your team to the scene and let's solve this before the killer strikes again, shall we?"

"Yes ma'am." Lisbon answered. She hung up and addressed her team. "Jane, looks like you were right, we've got another victim in the next town over. Grab your stuff and let's go."

xxxx

The new crime scene was almost the same as the last. The victim was almost a carbon copy of their first victim, it was eerie. Her name was Tori Koln. The team had found out that the victim was also in a relationship who was M.I.A. The boyfriend was the prime suspect after a few hours of investigating. They had pieced the puzzle together, but they were still missing a few important details. The boyfriend of the first victim, Tracie Juniper, was the same man as the boyfriend of the second victim, Tori Koln.

"What is it Jane?" Lisbon asked sharply. They were at the local police department's station looking over what they knew about each victim, trying to find the connection.

"Their names. Look at their names." Jane said.

"They both start with 'T'. So what? What is the significance?" Lisbon asked Jane.

"It is part of his M.O.; he kills women who are relatively short with dark hair and green eyes. Obviously their names have to start with the letter 'T' to peak his interest. And did you notice that their last names start with letters next to each other in the alphabet? 'J' then 'K'. That isn't a coincidence." Jane said. His eyes had a wild look in them, similar to fear.

"Grace! Check for any cases that have the same M.O. in the past year." Lisbon said, ignoring Jane's scared look. She didn't understand why he was frightened but she couldn't ask him, she had work to do.

"I did." Grace said. "There have been nine cases before our two. In chronological order, the victims are: Tammy Allan, Tyra Belle, Tara Craw, Tiffany DeRoches, Trinity Elm, Tatiana Forde, Tess Green, Taylor Holden, Teagan Isle, Tracie Juniper, and Tori Koln."

"Good work." Lisbon said.

"A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K…" Jane whispered in Lisbon's ear. "You know what the next letter is."

"It's 'L'. So?" Lisbon asked.

"He's not done killing and you fit the description to the letter." Jane said, the worry leaking into his voice.

At this moment Lisbon realized that Jane was scared for her. He thought that she was in danger of being the next victim.

"Jane, that's ridiculous. I am perfectly safe and I'm not going to be the next victim. I'd like to see someone take me down." Lisbon added with a smirk. Just then, her phone rang.

"Sorry, I need to take this." Lisbon told Jane. He nodded and she walked over to the other side of the room. "Lisbon."

"Hey Teresa, it is Michael."

"Oh, hi! I wasn't expecting to hear from you. What's up?" Lisbon asked.

"I realize that I've been a little…distant lately and I wanted to make it up to you." Michael said. Just hearing those words from him made her feel like jumping for joy.

"How would you do that?" Lisbon said, the smile shining through her words.

"Well, if you're not too busy, I was thinking I could meet you at a local restaurant? We could have a nice dinner and then go for dessert?" Michael said somewhat suggestively.

"But it's almost dinnertime already; you wouldn't be able to get here in time." Lisbon said.

"Sure I would. I already am. I'm just waiting for you to agree and come outside." Michael said.

"Well, I guess they don't really need me here at the moment…" Lisbon said thoughtfully, chewing on her lip. It seemed like her relationship was beginning to change course to calmer waters and she didn't want to hold it back. "I'll just finish up here and be out in a few minutes, okay?"

"Wonderful." Michael said ecstatically.

"Love you." Lisbon said.

"You too." Michael said before hanging up.

"Guys, I'm going to head out for dinner, I'll see you guys tomorrow." Lisbon said to her team.

"Okay" They said. "Have fun."

"Thanks, I will." Lisbon replied with a smile. With that she left to meet her boyfriend.

A few minutes after she left, some people from the forensic team arrived with some evidence for them to look over before they processed it. Jane looked through the box, looking for something useful. What he found caused him to drop it on the table and run out the doors.

"What's wrong with him?" Rigsby asked.

"I don't know." Cho said. He picked up the piece of evidence that Jane had dropped. It was a picture frame. When Cho turned it over, he realized what had made Jane rush out of the building like there was no tomorrow. "Shit."

The three agents spurred into action, getting their gear and running outside after their colleague, leaving only the picture frame. It was by no means a fancy or special frame; it only held a picture as most picture frames do. Just a picture of the deceased and her boyfriend. A boyfriend that looked a lot like the one a Miss Teresa Lisbon had just left with for dinner.

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**You know that saying 'Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time'? Well this is the exception. Please leave a review! :D**


	2. Ironic

**It has been waaaaaay too long! I'm so sorry for the snail pace at which I've updated! I have a good excuse though! Okay, a mediocre excuse. But an excuse none-the-less. My laptop broke sortof and I thought it was a virus but it actually wasn't. Anyway, so it's been gone for a week and I'm not getting it back for another few days. Anyway, I couldn't write on the computer while I was mourning my laptop now could I? :p Just joking. But that's my story and I'm sticking to it! I hope you will take my peace offering, this chapter :D**

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Life or Death

Lisbon was in Michael's car on the way to the restaurant when she let her mind wander back to the case. Even though she had said that she could leave the team to work on the case without her, she found herself worrying about them. Was Jane behaving himself? Had they found any leads? Were they going to question a new-found suspect? Was this suspect armed and/or dangerous? And the most important and pressing matter at hand: would Jane prove to be right in his suspicions? She had realized that she held a certain resemblance to the victims, she couldn't deny that. But she wasn't worried about that. She was a state agent after all; she could take care of herself. No, what she was worried the most about was that Jane was right and the killer would kill again.

"Where is your mind at?" Michael asked. He was driving the car, something that Lisbon normally wouldn't have liked but it allowed her to ponder the many things on her mind without distraction and she was thankful for it.

"Oh nowhere in particular. It's just a tough case that's all." Lisbon replied.

"Want to tell me about it?" Michael said softly. He knew better than most that you couldn't force information out of this firecracker, she had to relinquish it willingly or you would get nowhere.

"You know I can't discuss an ongoing investigation." Lisbon said. "But if you must know, there were two women killed recently by someone who we suspect is a serial killer. It hits close to home is all."

"How so?" Michael inquired.

"When we arrived on scene and found the victim, and later when we found another I was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by memories. My mother died when I was young, I told you that, and every time I looked at the victims I saw her. They looked so much like her." Lisbon said.

"I'm so sorry Teresa. If there's anything I can do, anything at all you just let me know alright?" Michael said, concern shining in his eyes.

"Thanks. I think I just need to take my mind off it is all." Lisbon said, looking out the window.

"You look a lot like your mother did, don't you?" Michael asked tentatively.

"Yeah, I guess so. I mean we both have the same green eyes and dark brown hair. We are both vertically challenged." Lisbon said with a small chuckle. "At least, we were. I guess not anymore, since she's gone."

"I'm sorry. But shouldn't you be worried that the killer will come after you?" Michael asked, the concern never leaving his voice, or his expression.

"Nah, I can take care of myself. I'll be fine." Lisbon said. She turned her head to gaze out the window once more. She failed to see the small smirk that graced Michael's face and the way his eyes lit up with cruel anticipation.

"I wouldn't be so sure."

xxxx

"Where could she possibly have gotten?" Jane asked, frustrated. He was pacing across the local police department's headquarters. "She must have left not five minutes before us. How can we have no idea where she is or where she's going?"

"They must be driving fast. Jane, you need to calm down." Cho said, not letting his panic show on his face.

"Calm down? How can you expect me to calm down? Lisbon has gone who knows where with a serial killer whom she believes to be her boyfriend!" Jane said frantically.

"This is where you come in handy Jane. You are great at figuring out what is going through people's minds and we need you to put yourself in the killer's shoes and tell us where he's taking her. You are no good to us unless you can calm down and do your job. Unless you can do that, you're no good to Lisbon either." Cho said rationally.

"You're right. I'm sorry, but it's just... it's hard." Jane said pleadingly.

"I know it is man. We all do." Cho said, patting Jane lightly on the shoulder.

"Yeah. Okay, so this man obviously likes to kill in somewhat public places but will not risk getting caught. So we can assume that he will take her to a place that is public, but not at this time of night." Jane reasoned. You could practically see the wheels turning inside his head.

"So what? Like a park?" Rigsby inquired.

"Exactly." Jane sad. "The other victims were found in parks, whether it was a playground or wooded area they are all considered parks."

"I'll search for parks in the area and see what we come up with." Van Pelt said. She was already typing vigorously. About a minute had passed as she delved into cyberspace looking for possible killing grounds for their serial killer to execute their beloved Lisbon. "I got it. There are four parks in the area, two playgrounds for kids and two wooded parks."

"We'll have to split up. We don't have time for back-up. Rigsby, you take one of the child's playgrounds and Van Pelt, you take the other. I'll take the bigger wooded park." Cho directed, wasting no time in giving orders. "Jane, I realize that it's crazy to put you in the field..."

"It would be crazy to expect me to wait on the side lines when Lisbon's life is at stake." Jane said strongly.

"Alright. You take the smaller wooded area. I want all of you wearing vests, no exceptions." Cho said. "We need to work fast, remember his MO; he doesn't only kill his victims. They all had evidence of sexual assault and I'll be damned if we let that happen to Lisbon."

Jane's face blanched at the mention of this temporarily forgotten information. Usually he could recall every tiny detailed, but when Lisbon was in danger it seemed that his memory palace was somewhat hazy. He was instantly disgusted with the killer once more and also with himself for forgetting this crucial information. They all rushed out and made their way to their designated parks, each one praying they wouldn't be too late.

xxxx

"We're here." Michael said cheerily. Everything was going according to plan. Of course, he hadn't planned on Teresa catching his case before he killed her. But he'd made the necessary arrangements and everything was running smoothly, she had no idea.

"What?" Lisbon questioned as she got out of the vehicle. "I thought we were going to eat dinner at the local restaurant?"

"I thought we'd skip the main course and go straight to dessert." Michael said with a predatory look that Lisbon missed. She was busy looking at her surroundings, all the trees blocking out all of civilization.

"What do you mean?" Lisbon asked.

"Come on, I know you didn't live out your teenage years to the fullest and I understand that." Michael told Lisbon who had a confused expression on her face. "But everyone should get a chance to make out like horny teenagers in the woods at some point." He said cheekily.

"I don't think that's such a great idea..." Lisbon said with a giggle.

"And why not?" Michael asked as he moved closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her small waist tenderly.

"Someone could see us, I mean this is a public park." Lisbon said with a grin.

"Relax; no one goes to parks at this time of night." Michael said. "And don't worry about that serial killer, I'll keep you safe."

"What about the serial killer? Why would I be afraid?" Lisbon asked, trying to mask her alarm.

"The other victims were all found in parks, weren't they?" Michael said gently.

"Uh, well yeah, I guess so. How'd you...?" Lisbon asked suspiciously.

"You told me. Don't you remember? You must have dozed off a bit in the car ride." Michael said with a reassuring smile.

_Smooth_ Lisbon thought. But she had enough experience as an enforcer of the law and with working alongside Jane to always watch what she said and she knew for sure that she had not divulged this tidbit of information. But she masked her new discovery carefully so as not to alert Michael to her epiphany.

"Michael." Lisbon said, trying to gently pry herself from his arms and step away from him. And she was successful, until he grabbed hold of her arm to intertwine their fingers.

"Yes, Teresa?" Michael said with a heart-felt smile.

"How did you know that I was here?" Lisbon asked.

"What do you mean? I drove us here. Are you feeling alright?" Michael said with a teasing glint in his eyes.

"I mean in this town, Michael. How did you know that I was in this town when you came to pick me up for dinner?" Lisbon said, slipping some authority into her voice.

"You told me, when you called me to let me know that you would be out of town for a case. You gave me the number of the hotel in case I couldn't reach your cell phone and you told me what town you would be in." Michael said smoothly. So smoothly, it almost sounded like it was rehearsed.

"No I didn't. I told you the town that we were in when we were at the first crime scene. Not the one where we found the second victim. How did you know where I was?" Lisbon said, not even trying to be subtle in her attempts to put some distance in between the two of them. But his gently hold on her wrist quickly turned into a death grip that threatened to break it.

"Well, you see Teresa, I've been here before. Recently, in fact, to do a sort of job. It's more of a hobby really, this thing I do. And I knew that since you were investigating my previous work, you would inevitably be here to admire my most recent masterpiece." Michael said. His eyes had turned manic and wild. "I do love collections, have I ever told you? Well, you know now. And I plan on making you my newest addition, how does that sound Teresa Lisbon?"

In this moment Lisbon found herself worried for her own life for the first time during this case. She should have listened to Jane when he warned her that she could possibly be the next victim. What was that song? The one that said it's the good advice that you just didn't take? Oh yes, Ironic. Good song, fitting, given her current situation. For she had entered this park silently hoping that Michael had packed a picnic dinner since she hadn't gone on a picnic since before her mother had died. And now here she was, most likely to die herself.

xxxx

"What's the news?" Jane asked Cho over the phone.

"Van Pelt and Rigsby have both arrived at their parks and checked them thoroughly, both are clear. I'm at mine and it is empty. Nothing!" Cho said allowing his frustration to reach Jane's ears. "We're on our way to yours. We'll be there in ten, maybe fifteen minutes. Are you there yet?"

"No." Jane replied. "This one is the farthest away, I'm just pulling in now."

Jane hung up his phone hastily, jumping out of his car before he'd taken his keys out. He rushed into the woods, running faster than he ever knew he could. He reached a clearing with a car in it that he recognized as the one that had dropped Lisbon off frequently at the CBI. He ran even faster, if that was possible. He entered a smaller clearing where he found Michael and Lisbon. He ran towards them and collapsed on the ground next to Lisbon. He quickly got out his phone and called for an ambulance.

"We need an ambulance at Green Woods Park on Burke Drive. There are two victims; one has a gunshot in his torso and the other..." Jane's voice broke a bit before he could continue. "She's been stabbed in the torso. There's so much blood."

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**You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. I belive this may become my theme song, what do you think? :p Hey! At least it's a new chapter? **

***Insert witty comment about leaving a review here* :D**


	3. Hold On

**Once again I apologize for the delay in my updates, I feel really bad that I'm making all you guys wait. My last chapter didn't get nearly as many reviews as my first one, so I'm wondering if some of you didn't like it? Even if you didn't please review and let me know! Anyway, I have kept you long enough :)**

Life or Death

Cho arrived at the park to find two ambulances in the parking lot already and he feared the worst. He didn't normally assume things, you know what happens when you assume, but this was Jane and he had a way of attracting trouble and dangerous situations. Cho couldn't believe the he'd been stupid enough to let Jane come here on his own. Cho wasn't always pessimistic but in this case he felt justified in assuming the worst for his two colleagues, his two friends.

"What happened?" Cho demanded Jane as soon as he reached him. He saw Lisbon being hoisted onto a stretcher and was immediately alarmed to see how much blood was not in her body. Jane either wasn't listening to him or couldn't. Jane had eyes only for Lisbon as usual, although this was under much different circumstances. "Jane!"

"Huh?" Jane muttered. "I can't... Lisbon, she..."

"Jane. Tell me what happened." Cho said, using all his self control to stop from lashing out at Jane.

"I got here a few minutes ago and I heard a gunshot so I ran over. It was horrible. She was just lying there on the ground. Michael, I never liked that name, he was lying a few feet away. I called the ambulance; I guess they were really close when I called. But Lisbon was barely conscious and she just kept muttering the names of her brothers and the team. I don't know... I just don't know." Jane said frantically.

"Go with her." Cho ordered. "I'll take care of everything here. Go!"

Jane nodded and climbed into the ambulance as fast as he could. The paramedics were trying to work their magic and save Lisbon, but Jane couldn't tear his eyes from her face to see how it was going.

"Lisbon you're going to be fine. You are going to get through this. You have to." Jane whispered desperately.

"It's hard. I just... want to rest." Lisbon mumbled weakly.

"No, stay awake. Please." Jane pleaded.

"Why?" Lisbon whispered meekly.

"Why? Because if you're awake, you're not dead." Jane whispered, almost afraid to say the words out loud.

"It would be so much easier, to just rest. After a lifetime of holding on, to just let go." Lisbon managed to say. Jane could barely hear what she was saying now, her voice was so quiet.

"Please Lisbon, please." Jane said.

"What's the use? What do I have left to live for?" Lisbon muttered, her eyes struggling to stay open.

"What about your brothers? They'll be devastated, you've cared for them their whole lives and you can't just leave them now." Jane said, trying to get her to hold on, just a little bit longer.

"They don't speak to me. I never see them. I miss them." Lisbon said.

"If you hold on, you'll get to see them. Please. If not for them, then for the team. They need you, you can't leave them." Jane said.

"They're good agents, they don't need me. I don't know if they even like me too much anyway. Hightower certainly doesn't. Maybe they're better off without me." Lisbon said.

"That is not true! They need you so much more than you know and they love and respect you. How could you think otherwise?" Jane asked, shocked at Lisbon's insecurities. "What about me? What am I supposed to do without you?"

"What you always do." Lisbon said, fighting the dark abyss of unconsciousness, if only to finally get the last word with this lovely, infuriating man.

"But if you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always got. I'm not so sure that I want that now." Jane said, desperately trying to keep her talking at least.

"What does that even mean?" Lisbon said, quickly losing coherent thought.

"I'll tell you when you have made it through this mess." Jane said.

"M'kay." Lisbon said. Her eyes fluttered shut and the sound of a flat line rang throughout the ambulance.

Xxxx

"_I do love collections, have I ever told you? Well, you know now. And I plan on making you my newest addition, how does that sound Teresa Lisbon?"_

_Lisbon wrenched her wrist out of Michael's vice-like grip. She tried to run away, but was tackled to the ground before she could get very far. She gasped, trying to regain the wind that had been knocked out of her upon impact but there didn't seem to be enough air. And then there wasn't any, as Michael's hands smothered her oxygen supply. She couldn't breathe, but she could see dots in her vision. She felt light-headed and dizzy. It reminded her of when she had gotten drunk that one night with the team after Bosco had died. That had been one crazy night._

_Just as the black dots threatened to take over her view completely, Michael removed his hands from her mouth. She inhaled painfully, trying to replenish her oxygen supply. But once again, her efforts were interrupted when Michael's hands cut off her air once more, only this time by applying ungodly pressure to her throat. _

_And so this dance continued, until Michael got bored with this torture. He removed his hands and pushed himself from his position atop her body, Lisbon braced herself for more. When it didn't come she was relieved, at least until she saw what Michael was doing now. _

_He had pulled a knife from somewhere, his pocket most likely but Lisbon was in no state to analyse where he kept his knives. This in itself was enough to strike fear into her heart, but when she saw what he did next it consumed her entirely. Michael had unbuttoned his slacks and was in the process of removing them. Lisbon tried to scramble away, desperate to escape his clutches. But he saw what she was doing and she only managed to get a few feet away before being pinned to the ground once more. _

_Michael had a creepy smile upon his face, clearly enjoying every moment. He grinned as he ran the knife down her shirt, sending the buttons flying but not giving her so much as a scratch. He violently ripped her shirt away from her body, discarding it like yesterday's trash and leaving her clad only in her jeans and tank top. He ran the blade along her stomach, up to her right shoulder and gliding along her collarbone to rest at her left shoulder. He removed the blade, only to return it to her shoulder, plunging it into the fleshy depths. Lisbon screamed in agony._

"_Now, now Teresa, Surely that doesn't hurt too much. I thought you were tough. Pity. Now be quiet like a good girl and if you're lucky it won't hurt as much." Michael said menacingly. _

_Michael made to undress her further, but was stopped when Lisbon found her strength and used it to shove him off of her. He was caught off guard and provided Lisbon with time to grab her gun from her holster and shoot him in the chest. _

_She slumped into the ground, barely registering the footsteps that were coming towards her. She thought of everything that she loved; everyone she loved. It was strange that after having just shot her boyfriend, she was thinking of her brothers and how she missed them, her team and how she wished she would have shown more appreciation. And finally she thought of Patrick Jane, the annoying consultant she'd come to love. She couldn't imagine never seeing him again, never hearing his voice again. _

"_We need an ambulance..." She heard distantly in the voice that she craved to hear every moment of her day. _

_Xxxx_

"Who is here for Teresa Lisbon?" One of the doctors asked the waiting room full of anxious loved ones of patients.

"Here." Jane said. He shot up from his seat and met the doctor halfway, Cho, Van Pelt and Rigsby following behind him.

"She just got out of surgery. She lost quite a lot of blood for that type of wound but not enough to pose a significant threat to her survival at this point. We fixed her up, thankfully none of her vital organs were harmed." The doctor said calmly, soothingly.

"Is she awake? Can we see her?" Jane asked, relieved that she would make it.

"She should be waking any moment now. She's in room 130 and yes, you can go see her." The doctor said with a small smile. With that, Jane dashed off in hopes of finding Lisbon as soon as possible.

"One thing before you go," Cho said to the doctor. "The man who came in at the same time as her, Michael something? What is the status with him?"

"He's out of surgery as well, it was pretty rocky, your agent is a good shot. But he's going to make a full recovery, looks like." The doctor said before turning on her heel and going to help other patients in need.

With that Cho left to catch up with his teammates. He walked into the room to see Jane giving her a hug, being careful not to hurt her shoulder, and Grace telling her how worried they were.

"We're so glad you're okay." Grace finished. They remained for a few minutes before Cho, Rigsby and Grace left to return to working on the case, as per Lisbon's requests.

"Aren't you going?" Lisbon asked Jane when he made no move to join the rest of the team.

"No. They don't need me and I'd much rather be here with you." Jane told her honestly.

"Oh, okay, I guess that's alright." Lisbon said awkwardly.

"I can't even begin to tell you how glad I am that you held on and pulled through." Jane said, tilting Lisbon's chin so she was forced to look into his eyes and see that his words rang true.

"Thanks. I don't know if I could have, if it weren't for you. How you told me those things...well, thanks." Lisbon said timidly.

"I don't understand, Teresa. Why wouldn't you have held on? Why don't you value your life?" Jane asked, not with anger but with sadness.

"I...I do. I just..." Lisbon stuttered. Thankfully, she was interrupted by a doctor knocking on her door and entering her room.

"Teresa Lisbon, I'm here to talk to you about some things. Would you mind leaving the room sir?" The doctor said politely.

"No, it's alright. He can stay. I don't mind." Lisbon said.

"Alright, if you're sure." The doctor said.

"I am." Lisbon said. Jane slipped his hand into hers and she gave it a small squeeze.

"Okay. Well, we ran some routine tests to make sure that everything was okay after your surgery. And we found something interesting. I'm not sure if you were previously aware of this but if you weren't, well, you're pregnant." The doctor said.

Upon Lisbon's face was a look of pure shock as the words sunk in. She was pregnant. Her boyfriend was a serial rapist and killer. He was going to jail, unless she had managed to kill him which was unlikely, seeing as she hadn't had enough time to properly aim before shooting. She was alone, all alone with her newfound child.

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**Oh my! So, what did you think of this chapter? Any comments or concerns? Guesses as to what happens next? All these and more are welcomed into my house of reviews :p Please please please please leave a review! (This is me begging) :D**


	4. Helping Hands

**Again, my apologies for the long wait! I was going to update sooner but I ran out of inspiration/ideas for the chapter and had to stop halfway through :( But it's done now! The chapter at least, I'm no where near done with this story. Thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter! Reviews make my heart smile :D And to those who didn't, do you want to review this one as an early christmas gift for me? :p I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's kind of short but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Happy Holidays!**

Life or Death

"Lisbon? Lisbon!" Jane asked, trying to get her out of her unresponsive daze. The doctor had left and Lisbon had slumped against the hospital bed, not saying a word.

"Huh? What?" Lisbon asked, distractedly.

"You weren't saying anything, you weren't moving, I had half a mind to call the doctor back and check if you were comatose." Jane said. Despite his teasing words, worry shone through his eyes, something that Lisbon did not miss. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Jane. They've fixed me up good as new." Lisbon said, not meeting his eyes.

"That's not what I mean and you know it. Are you alright with the doctor's news?" Jane said; all traces of humour gone from his face.

"I, um… I don't know. I mean it's, uh, shocking…and I didn't expect…" Lisbon stuttered. "And he's going to jail, which is good… but I'm going to be on my own and…"

"Shh, you're not going to be alone Lisbon, we'll all be here for you." Jane said, trying to give her any small comfort he could.

"It's not that. I'm going to be a single parent. I just, never thought I would be in this situation." Lisbon said. He eyes were unfocused, hazy as if she hadn't quite grasped the fact that this was real, it was really happening.

"You, uh, you know there are other options…" Jane said. He knew that she probably wouldn't consider them but he felt that she should be aware nonetheless.

"No, I couldn't…" Lisbon whispered. She began fiddling with the cross around her neck. "I'm scared Patrick."

"I know." Jane said, sitting on the edge of her bed and wrapping his arms around her. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms, trying to reassure her somehow. "You don't need to do this alone."

"What do you suggest? Get Michael's help from jail?" Lisbon said with a humourless laugh.

"Of course not." Jane said. "But you can accept our help, my help."

"The team can't help me, not with this. And I couldn't ask that of them anyway, it would be like taking away their lives. No, I couldn't." Lisbon said sadly.

"You know, I have had experience raising a child, even if it was cut short. And I don't have a life you could take away. I don't even have a home." Jane said quietly.

"Sure you do, you have your Malibu house and your apartment in Sacramento." Lisbon said.

"A house isn't always a home. Mine hasn't been for a while now." Jane said with a small hint of sadness.

"Are you seriously offering your help raise my child?" Lisbon asked tentatively, afraid that if she spoke the words too loudly they would prove untrue.

"I've never been more serious in my life; I'd be honoured to help you with your child for as long as you need me." Jane said sincerely.

"I may just take you up on that offer. Thanks." Lisbon said. She reached for his hand and squeezed slightly, showing him how much this little comfort meant to her.

xxxx

When Lisbon was discharged from the hospital, after Jane had managed to annoy every single employee on Lisbon's floor, Jane had insisted on driving her home. She hadn't had too much of a problem with this, his car was at the hospital and hers was not. She actually welcomed the ride to her apartment, and that he helped her into her apartment despite her assurances that she was fine, it's just that he never left.

It was almost eleven thirty and Jane was lying on her couch, pretending to sleep. Lisbon had tried to fall asleep, really she had, but it was difficult to fall into a deep relaxation when Jane was just in the other room. She'd managed to convince herself that it was because she was used to living alone and was uneasy when another person was in her house with her at night. She failed to consider the fact that when her brother Tommy visited, used to visit, he would stay with her and she slept fine. She had convinced herself that her not sleeping had nothing to do with Jane's presence, simply the presence of another human being.

She decided that if they were both unable to succumb to sleep, they might as well be awake together. She crept into the living room and became instantly aware of how cold it was in her house. Under the warmth of her covers she hadn't felt the chill, but standing here in her oversized jersey, boy was she feeling it.

"Jane." Lisbon whispered.

"Yes?" He said, at full volume.

"Shh. Not so loud." Lisbon said.

"Why? There's only you and I here. Unless there's something you're not telling me?" Jane said, sitting up on the couch.

"Hush. It's only you and me, but it feels weird disturbing the silence of the night." Lisbon said bashfully.

"Ah of course my dear, then we will whisper as you wish." Jane whispered. "Are you cold?"

"No." Lisbon lied.

"Then why do you have goose bumps all over your legs, Teresa?" Jane said knowingly.

"Hush. I am cold; I didn't realize how cold it gets at night since I'm usually in my bed or at the office." Lisbon said.

"Well then, by all means, let's go to your bed." Jane said.

"What? No. I…" Lisbon stuttered, startled by Jane's forwardness. "What?"

"I don't mean like that. You are cold and you're not going to be able to sleep knowing that I'm awake and unsupervised in your house so this is the easy solution. I won't bite, hard." Jane said with a smile.

"Jane." Lisbon said in a warning tone.

"I'm jut messing with you Teresa." Jane said.

"Well don't. And stop calling me Teresa." Lisbon said, blushing pink.

"Alright my dear, whatever makes you happy." Jane said with a grin.

"No terms of endearment either." Lisbon said. She was desperately trying to keep a professional distance from the infuriating man and he wasn't making it any easier.

"Why not?" Jane asked innocently. "You won't let me call you by your name so what am I supposed to call you?"

"Terms of endearment are used for people in some sort of romantic relationship, that's why. You can call me Lisbon." Lisbon said, not making eye contact.

"But Lisbon is your work name. Here, at home you shouldn't have to be called by your work name. You should be able to relax and feel comfortable. And for the record, I still don't see why I can't call you dear or darling." Jane said, that infuriating smile firmly set upon his face.

"Fine! Call me Teresa when I'm at home, not that you'll be here too often anyway. But at work you call me Lisbon and nothing else." Lisbon said.

"Thank you. But do you really think that I'm not going to be here that often? I said I would help you and that's what I'm going to do." Jane said, suddenly serious.

"I know you want to help and you can, once the baby is here." Lisbon said.

"Ah ah ah. Teresa, you don't really think I'm going to leave you alone throughout your pregnancy do you? You need to eat for two people now, not just yourself and I'm going to charge myself with that task. This means three square meals a day plus a few small meals, snacks if you will. I'm going to help you find a house and get furniture for the baby. I'm going to help you through this just as a father would." Jane said, holding her hand for emphasis.

"Whatever. We'll talk more tomorrow. Right now, I need to sleep so come on." Lisbon said. She was too tired to argue right now but once she regained full strength she would.

Lisbon and Jane headed to her bedroom and Lisbon made no hesitation before collapsing in her bed. Jane on the other hand, simply watched her lay there for a few seconds, not quite sure what to do with himself. But he quickly got his wits together and slipped under the covers next o her. As soon as he did, Lisbon moved closer to him, curled into his side and wrapped an arm around him. Jane would be lying if he said this unexpected move didn't make him feel all fluttery and warm inside.

"Teresa, what are you doing?" Jane said, confused.

"You didn't think I was going to let you wait until I fall asleep and then go sneaking around my apartment did you? You're not going anywhere." Lisbon muttered sleepily. "Now you can't snoop without waking me."

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**Any thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Send them all my way in the form of a review please! :p Again, I wish a happy holidays to each and every one of you reading this :D Thanks for reading!**


	5. Disturbing the Peace

**Again, I am so sorry for not updating sooner. I have no good excuses, I just didn't know what to write. Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter, especially those who reviewed recently and got me writing again. I hope that this chapter makes up for lost time :)**

Life or Death

Jane was staring at the ceiling, still in awe at how sneaky Lisbon was. She really was a treasure. From the way she'd made him stay with her that first night to now, three months into her pregnancy, she'd never ceased to surprise him. She had the strangest cravings too. If those were anything to go by, her child would be one weird kid. She would raise the kid right, of that Jane was sure. But seriously, who eats cheddar cheese with mustard? Apparently Lisbon did.

In the few months since she'd found out about her pregnancy, Jane had practically moved in to her apartment. He drove her to and from work, despite her assurances that she could drive herself. She could, Jane knew this but he didn't want anything to happen to her. He'd become openly protective of her, anyone could see that just by spending a few minutes with the two of them. But he wasn't the only one who had experienced a change in behaviour; Lisbon had become more touchy-feely around him and the team. The team was shocked when Lisbon first started acting differently, but that was nothing compared to what Jane had felt as first. Shocked was definitely an understatement. The team had it easy; they'd been eased into it; a little reassuring hand on the shoulder here, a little pat on the back there. All eventually leading up to a hug with an unsuspecting Van Pelt. But Jane hadn't had any warning when they were at home. If it had been anyone else, Jane would have said the way Lisbon had curled into his side was cuddling. But it wasn't anyone else, it was Lisbon and Lisbon did not cuddle.

It seemed that this new found part of Lisbon was a part of her mood swings. All of the CBI had heard about her pregnancy by now and it was no secret that she had been roughly one month pregnant before she was told by the doctor on that fateful day. Her mood swings were few and far between, at least at work, but when they reared their ugly head people knew to make themselves scarce.

This was not the only side effect that people noticed, particularly the male population at the CBI. Jane was uncomfortably aware of the extra attention men paid to her chest when they were talking. Not that he wasn't guilty of this himself; she'd caught him staring when she told him she had to go shopping for new bras. After that Jane had made sure not to stare at her chest, or at least not let her catch him doing so. He was a red-blooded male after all.

One side effect that only the team and Lisbon herself were privy to was her morning sickness. Never one to show any kind of weakness, Lisbon had tried her best to hide it from everyone. But Jane knew right away and the team had caught on shortly after. They were very understanding about it and acted like it wasn't happening so as not to embarrass their fearless leader.

As Lisbon reached the end of her first trimester, her mood swings and effusiveness grew less and less pronounced. Lisbon was grateful for this; she didn't like not being in control of her emotions. The team was also appreciative of this as they had been uneasy around their boss from time to time, never knowing when she may snap or start laughing uncontrollably. It was exhausting constantly being on guard for unexpected reactions from their pregnant boss, not that they would ever tell her that.

It was at the very beginning of Lisbon's second trimester that trouble started brewing. Not that anyone knew this; it was brewing far away from their bubble of blissful ignorance. Lisbon and Jane were co-existing nicely, that much was evident and they had no clue what chaos was quickly approaching.

"Jane, we need to go, now! We're going to be late." Lisbon shouted from the door. Jane had insisted on eating breakfast every morning, but Lisbon didn't mind. What she did mind was when he insisted on eating a healthy breakfast _and_ let her sleep in, leaving no time for them to get to work.

"Alright, alright. I'll just do the dishes after work then. But let's not get into a habit of doing so; it is rather tedious to return home after a hard day's work only to have to clean dishes." Jane muttered.

"Jane! Let's go! If it's so tedious then I'll just do the dishes tonight. Happy?" Lisbon said, exasperated by his lack of movement.

"My dear, do not insult either of us by saying you'll do the dishes when we both know that by the time we get home you'll be exhausted and put up a fuss, leaving me to do them anyway." Jane said with a teasing smirk plastered on his face as he grabbed his coat and headed to the car.

Lisbon just rolled her eyes at this. It was true, as they'd found out numerous times in the past couple of months. Although having her infuriating consultant living with her did pose many advantages and make her life a whole lot easier, she was not above tossing him out. She hadn't failed to remind Jane of this on a near daily basis.

As punishment for making them late for work, Lisbon denied Jane of conversation on the ride to work. Not that this meant a quiet ride, no Jane had to fill the silence with meaningless chatter to which Lisbon refuse to reply. To say that their ride to the office was a long one would be an understatement.

When they finally arrived at the CBI, the rest of the team was already there sitting at their respective desks. Lisbon went straight to her office, shutting herself away from Jane and his annoying antics. Jane was more civil, even offering an explanation to the team for why they were late.

"Sorry we're late guys." Jane said, not meaning a word of it. "Lisbon slept in a little."

"Sure she did." Cho said, his words positively dripping with sarcasm.

"Really, you don't think we know what's going on?" Grace questioned with a smirk.

"Well we do, and it's definitely not sleep." Rigsby said, the innuendo obvious in his voice.

"You poor unfortunate souls, so deluded in your misguided assumptions. I pity you, truly." Jane said, blowing off their words like they were nothing.

"You're telling us that after countless nights alone with an attractive woman who you are so desperately in love with, you haven't made a move?" Cho deadpanned.

"She's pregnant with her ex-boyfriend-turned-serial-killer's child, guys." Jane said, no more teasing in his eyes. This sobered everyone up and they returned to doing whatever it was that they were working on before his arrival.

It was true that he'd experienced certain… urges while staying with Lisbon, but he'd quickly regained control of himself. He wasn't going to make Lisbon uncomfortable in any way and if he had to endure a little discomfort to do so, well so be it. It was worth it, she was worth it.

"Jane!" Lisbon shouted from her office. It wasn't one of her Jane-has-done-something-to-annoy-me shouts; it had a shocked and almost fearful edge. This wasn't good. Jane sprung up from his spot on the couch and ran into her office.

"What is it?" Jane asked upon entering.

"L-look." Lisbon said with a shaky voice. She handed him an envelope and card without another word.

Jane took the card and envelope, not giving that latter a second glance before opening the card. Upon opening the card, something fell out and landed on the floor. Jane didn't move to pick it up as he was fully enraptured by the greeting on the card.

_Dearest Patrick and Teresa,_

_My, how much has happened in such a short amount of time. You two look so cozy sharing a house, sharing a bed, and expecting your first child together. It really is too cute. Someone really should do something about that, and I know just the guy._

_Until then_

The card was signed with a bright red smiley face that was all too familiar. Jane nearly dropped the card when he was done. Then he remembered what had fallen to the floor when he'd opened the dreadful card. He bent down to pick it up. It had fallen face down, not revealing its content until Jane turned it over. Once he did, he immediately regretted it.

It was a picture, taken from an obvious distance. It was the kind of picture that sends shivers through your spine because the objects of the photographer's focus are so obviously not aware of being photographed. It was a picture of Jane and Lisbon walking from his car to her apartment, Jane's hand on the small of her back and Lisbon's head tossed back as she laughed at something he said. It was the kind of picture that brought nightmares of red smiley faces and lifeless bodies.

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**Please leave a review! Now that exams are finally over, I hope to focus more on this story. That means faster updates :) Well, I don't want to jinx myself so let's say hopefully faster updates. :p**


	6. Unexpected

**I konw what you're thinking, she's back already? This has got to be the fastest she's updated this story! And yes, it's true. But don't say I didn't warn you. (See A/N for chapter 1) :p I personally am happt with this hapter. I felt good writing it and I've got a firmer grasp on what's to come. I hope you share my feelings about this chapter, feel free to let me know in a review. Enjoy!**

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Life or Death

"I know what you're going to say." Lisbon said before Jane even had a chance to open his mouth. "You're going to go on your 'People who get close to me, bad things happen to them' spiel and I'm telling you I don't want to hear it. If you even think of trying to tell me that we need to stop living together and being friends, so help me I will…"

"You're crazy if you think that I'm leaving you alone after this." Jane interrupted.

"If Red John's going to come after me it won't matter if you're on the other side of the country… Wait what?" Lisbon said, pausing when she realized that Jane hadn't said what she thought he was going to.

"When I came home all those years ago to find my wife and child murdered, it was the worst feeling in the world. I felt so helpless; I couldn't even save my own family. When I walked in that room and there was absolutely nothing I could do… So no, I'm not going to leave you alone only to come home one night and find you just like them. I'm always going to save you Lisbon." Jane said, a fire burning deep in his very core.

"I- Jane, I can take care of myself and I'm pretty sure if it comes down to it, I'll be the one saving you." Lisbon said with a teasing grin. "But seriously, where does this need to save me come from."

"I just told you…" Jane said, getting a little uncomfortable.

"No, I mean why me? Why not Grace or anyone else on the team? Why me?" Lisbon said, taking slow, small steps toward Jane.

"Because I lo-, because you mean a lot to me and I can't lose you. Not to say that the team doesn't mean a lot to me, they do but…" Jane said, for once unable to find the perfect words to say. "They've all got someone looking out for them and you don't. You don't see your brothers and you don't have much time for friends outside of work. You're my best friend and I just want to keep you safe."

"You sure that's all there is to it?" Lisbon asked, not stopping her pacing towards him.

"Of course. Why would I say it unless it was true?" Jane asked, not making eye-contact.

"Would you tell me if it wasn't?" Lisbon said.

"Well, I don't know if I would. Probably not. But since it is true, we don't need to worry about it." Jane said, almost blending the words together as one.

"Oh we don't?" Lisbon asked, not letting it go.

"No. But what we do need to worry about is Red John. His not so subtle threat needs our attention. We should focus on that." Jane said, trying to recover his composure that seemed to have left him the moment he saw that note.

"Relax Jane." Lisbon said, ending her prowl to go sit on her couch. "If Red John thinks that the baby is yours then he's clearly losing his touch or not watching us as closely as he likes to think. Either way, I don't think we need to fret. We'll just inform Hightower and the team of the threat and be done with it."

"But he said…" Jane started.

"But nothing. He didn't say anything Jane. He just showed that he's not as smart he thinks he is. That's all." Lisbon said calmly.

"That is not all!" Jane said, his voice rising. "He said that he was going to destroy our family!"

"Jane, there's no family for him to destroy. We are just two people living together so that I don't have to raise my child alone." Lisbon said, getting increasingly annoyed with her consultant.

"But we are a family. You said so yourself. Don't you remember? You said that we were a family and isolating myself was a kind of betrayal." Jane said, moving to sit next to Lisbon on the couch. "I know we're not a family in the traditional sense, but we are still a family and I don't want to lose my family. I don't want to lose you."

"Well fortunately for you, you're not going to." Lisbon said with a smirk. "If he does break his pattern to try to come after us, which I highly doubt, then we'll catch him."

"How are you so sure?" Jane asked, his anxiety returning.

"Because I know you, and I know the team. But more importantly I know myself and there's no way in hell I'm letting Red John hurt my baby." Lisbon said, a fierce glint in her eye. "So let's put this behind us and go home. It's been a long day and I'm tired."

"Alright. But we're telling Hightower." Jane said sternly.

"Tomorrow." Lisbon muttered unenthusiastically.

"I'm going to hold you to that." Jane said, grabbing their coats and ushering her out the door.

Xxxx

Once they arrived at Lisbon's apartment, she headed straight for the kitchen, making sure to take off her shoes; Jane didn't want her tracking dirt through the apartment. He'd scolded her the first time she walked around with her shoes on, saying that if he was going to live there he didn't want to walk around in dirt. She smiled to herself s she turned on the water, filling up the sink.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jane asked.

"I'm doing the dishes, like I said I would." Lisbon said.

"No, you're not. You're tired and you need your sleep. I'll do the dishes, you get ready for bed." Jane said, leaving no room for discussion.

"Alright. But don't take too long with the dishes, I'll be waiting." Lisbon said, walking up the stairs with a smile on her face. Jane had been right that morning when he said that he always ended up doing the dishes; she knew exactly what to say and do to make him do her chores for her.

She undressed while walking around her room, trying to find her pyjamas from last night. She always just tossed them on the floor in the mornings but knowing Jane, he probably picked them up and put them somewhere. Which would be nice, if she were privy to where he'd put them.

"Jane!" Lisbon shouted. "Where did you put my pyjamas?"

"I put them in the top left drawer." Jane said. Lisbon was surprised to hear the voice so close, she'd thought he'd been in the kitchen. She spun around to see him in the doorway, with a stunned expression on his face.

"Jane?" Lisbon asked, he wasn't moving and he was barely breathing. Something was wrong, but she didn't know what. "Jane what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Jane muttered once he regained control of his inappropriate emotions. Seeing her in just her undergarments shouldn't have had such a strong effect on him, he wasn't an inexperienced teenager. But his urges were proving to test his self-control, well on their way to becoming rampant.

"Are you sure? You've been acting… strange recently." Lisbon said, walking towards him. She was completely unconcerned by her state of undress, she'd become comfortable around Jane. Jane had not yet become as comfortable around her in this regard.

"Yeah, I'm sure. It's just, you're starting to show. It's beautiful." Jane said, redirecting his attention to her stomach. It wasn't much, but it was there.

"I know." Lisbon said, a smile lighting up her face. She placed her hands on her stomach and turned her loving gaze upon it.

"It's truly amazing." Jane said with a smile.

"Do you… do you want to feel it?" Lisbon asked cautiously.

"Sorry?" Jane asked, taken aback by her inquiry.

"I know there's not really anything to feel because the baby's not moving; at least not doing anything that you'd be able to feel. But I don't know… I guess it's just something special and since you're here, I wanted to share it with you. I'm sorry, it was a silly idea." Lisbon said, turning away from Jane, a little embarrassed.

"No, not silly at all. I'd love to." Jane said with a smile. He encased her in a hug from behind, resting his hands next to hers on her stomach. Lisbon tilted her head back against his shoulder and he felt her relax against him. He couldn't deny that holding her felt good and relaxed him as well. They stayed there for well over ten minutes, neither wanting to move and just enjoying the other's presence.

"You're beautiful." Jane whispered in her ear. "Now get some rest, you deserve it after the day you've had."

"After the day we've had." Lisbon corrected. "Forget the dishes and come to bed, you need the sleep too."

"I have to do them now or they'll never get done." Jane responded, although her offer did sound amazing.

"Do them tomorrow, you know I've been having trouble sleeping and I need you to do your mentalist voodoo to get a goodnight's sleep." Lisbon said, pulling him towards the bed with her.

"I can't do them tomorrow, I'm sorry. There won't be any time." Jane said, his protests getting weaker and weaker. He was letting Lisbon pull him to the bed despite his words.

"Tomorrow's Saturday, you have all the time in the world." Lisbon said with a grin. She was unbuttoning his shirt as she spoke.

"I'd forgotten." Jane said. "Wait, how are we going to tell Hightower then?"

"You know, there's this wonderful invention called the telephone…" Lisbon said. She'd managed to rid him of his shirt and pulled it onto her own petit frame. She crawled into bed and waited for him to join her.

"Ha, right. I'm sorry my dear, it's been a long day." Jane said, removing his slacks.

"Don't apologize; just get your butt in bed." Lisbon said with a grin.

Jane did just that. He slid under the covers beside her and encircled her waist with his arms, leaving his hands to rest on her stomach. Lisbon fell asleep to Jane whispering sweet nothings in her ear and rubbing soothing circles on her stomach.

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**Well? What did you think? No cliffhanger for this one. I find that I'm increasingly addicted to leaving cliffhangers at the end of a chapter but I restrained myself. *holds for applause* Thank you, thank you. *bows* It was a pretty difficult feat, let me tell you. But leave a review for all my struggles? :p**


	7. Discomfort

**This is a late birthday present to my dear friend Rachel. :) You are getting old my friend! I apologize for the wait with this chapter, a few things came up but it was mostly just bad planning on my part. But this chapter is a little longer than previous ones so I hope that makes up for it. :) I'm not too sure if I'm happy with the ending, so please let me know if you liked it in a review, I would love to hear your opinion.**

Life or Death

Lisbon was feeling uncomfortable in her own skin. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, nor was it one she was used to. She had been fine for the first few months that Jane had been living with her, better than he'd seemed to be. He may think that he was the master of deception but she'd seen some of the strained looks he'd tried to hide. She now knew exactly why he'd been uncomfortable because she was feeling the same thing.

Her doctor had told her to expect a decreased libido for the first trimester, may a little longer, so it had been no surprise that she'd been relatively unaffected by Jane's presence in her house. But now that she was in the middle of her second trimester, her libido had come back with vengeance.

She found herself getting worked up by the most fleeting of touches, like when he'd handed her a cup of tea and his hands brushed hers. She'd overreacted to his every touch and it was now interfering with her work. She couldn't concentrate when he was in her office and since he'd practically moved in there, her work efficiency had severely dissipated. It was distracting and she wanted it gone.

She stepped out of her shower, the one that was supposed to relax her but failed, and wrapped her bathrobe around her before going downstairs to eat some breakfast. She had left Jane sleeping when she went for her shower because he was always fretting about her not getting enough sleep when he didn't get enough himself. She smiled as she remembered how peaceful he looked when he was actually sleeping and not simply pretending. He'd actually slept most nights since he'd started staying with her; she liked to think that it had a little something to do with her. Some may say that it was simply a female presence next to him after years of solitude but they could shove it. She was six months pregnant; she could think what she wanted.

She was all set to make an omelette and some herbal tea or other, apparently they have antioxidants or something that makes them good for you. Whatever; they didn't taste half-bad and that's all that mattered. Lisbon was more than a little surprised when she saw that Jane was already making breakfast, omelettes. Of course.

"Morning." She said before sitting down at the table. She rested her hands on her stomach, silently praying that he wouldn't come too close or touch her in that inadvertent way of his and further her unwelcome reaction to him.

"Good morning my darling. How are you feeling?" Jane asked, putting her omelette and tea in front of her before sitting across from her with his own.

"I'm feeling fine, thanks for asking." Lisbon said in a cautious tone, wondering why he'd asked that. She hadn't done anything to indicate anything was wrong… had she?

"I've just noticed that you've been feeling uncomfortable recently. Anything I can do about it?" Jane said calmly, answering her unvoiced question.

"Um, unless you have some sort of magical cure for discomfort, I don't think so." Lisbon teased; although she knew exactly what he could due to fix her… situation.

"Well, if you think of anything, just let me know." Jane said with a smile. He knew that she was lying to him but he wasn't going to aggravate the hormonal, pregnant, formidable woman in front of him. That would be like poking a hibernating bear, not in his best interest.

"Oh I won't hesitate to tell you yet another thing you can do for me." Lisbon said sarcastically. "Seriously, I've barely done anything for myself since you've unofficially moved in."

"Well, consider it me making good on all my promises of saving you and taking care of you." Jane said with a sincere smile. This in turn made Lisbon smile and she had to advert her gaze to stop herself from sitting there grinning like an idiot.

"Yeah well, I appreciate it. Truly." Lisbon said.

"I know. Oh, that reminds me! Today is Saturday and you have your appointment with your doctor today. I'll drive you there and wait for you until you're done." Jane said, just a hint of sadness in his tone when he spoke the last part. He'd never joined her when she went to the doctor's office; she honestly never knew he wanted to. She just figured that he had other things he wanted to do.

"Do you want to join me?" Lisbon asked tentatively.

"Really?" Jane asked, his eyes lighting up like Christmas had come early.

"Of course. I never knew you had any interest in joining me or else I would have offered sooner. It's the least I can do." Lisbon said.

"Teresa, don't feel like you have to do this. You don't owe me anything. If you want me to join you, then I will." Jane said. "Alright?"

"Uh, yeah. I would love it if you joined me." Lisbon said. "Now that we're done with all the sentimental stuff, are you going to do the dishes or what?"

A teasing smile could be found on Lisbon's face and a twin grin was currently being sported on the face of a certain consultant. It was times like these that made Lisbon grateful for having Jane in her life. He made it feel normal, even though it was far from it.

Xxxx

"Teresa Lisbon." The good doctor called. Lisbon and Jane got up from their seats in the waiting room, his hand held tightly in hers. Lisbon would never admit it, but she was vey nervous about this appointment and not because Jane was here with her. If anything, he actually calmed her down.

"How have you been? Has the baby been giving you much trouble?" The doctor asked once they were in the patient room.

"I've been good and no, no trouble from the baby." Lisbon said, smiling affectionately at her stomach while absent-mindedly stroking it lightly.

"I see you've brought a guest. Would this be the father?" The doctor continued.

"Er…" Lisbon started, not sure how to answer that question. Thankfully, Jane saved her from answering.

"For all intents and purposes, yes I am the father." Jane said with a charming smile.

"Okay. Last time you said you hadn't yet felt the baby kick or move. That's perfectly normal, but have you felt it since then?" The doctor asked.

"No, I haven't." Lisbon said, slightly embarrassed by this. Although it wasn't rational to be bashful about this, she was. She blamed it on the hormones.

"Hm, while it is true that most women have felt the baby move by the sixth month of pregnancy, it's nothing to be worried about I assure you." The doctor said with a reassuring smile. This didn't do much to calm Lisbon's nerves on the subject. "Now, would I be correct in assuming that you haven't changed your mind about knowing the sex of your baby?"

"That would be correct." Lisbon said. "I want it to be a surprise. We want it to be a surprise."

The appointment continued with routine and standard tests and examinations. It passed without a hitch and both Lisbon and the baby received a clean bill of health. Jane drove them home with a smile on his face the whole way back.

Xxxx

Later that day, Lisbon and Jane were curled up on the sofa watching a movie. It was some romantic comedy or other, just another story of love at first sight and all those other clichés. Lisbon was leaning against Jane's chest and his arms her wrapped around her waist. Both their hands rested on her stomach as they watched the movie.

"I've never believed in love at first sight." Lisbon said out of the blue.

"Really? Not even when you were young?" Jane asked, clearly surprised.

"It's true. I didn't understand how you could love someone just by looking at them because someone's appearance is not a good representation of who they are. You can't know someone just by setting eyes on someone." Lisbon shared.

"You don't believe that there can be an instant attraction?" Jane probed.

"Oh there can be an attraction, but that's lust not love." Lisbon said. Jane chuckled at this. "What?"

"Oh nothing, I agree completely. It's just that you normally don't willingly share personal stuff out of the blue." Jane said lightly.

"I know!" Lisbon said, distressed. "My hormones are giving me this annoying need to share. Ugh."

Jane just laughed at this and Lisbon joined in shortly after. His laughter, when real, was truly contagious and Lisbon honestly couldn't help but join in. Suddenly, both of them stopped laughing.

"Did you feel that?" Lisbon whispered.

"Yeah, I did." Jane whispered in awe. Both were grinning ear to ear with no plans of stopping. The movie was completely forgotten, there was only them in that moment.

"Wow. My baby just…" Lisbon said, nearly speechless.

"Yeah." Jane said. It was wonderful. Jane couldn't stop himself from pressing a kiss to her cheek. But it seemed that Lisbon had had other ideas as she'd turned her head towards him and his kiss landed on her lips. It wasn't planned by either of them, but it felt so good, so right that neither objected. Lisbon turned around in his embrace and moved her hands to the back of his head, entangling her fingers in his soft curls. She pulled him closer to her; she'd wanted this for so long. Jane responded with such zeal that she knew he wanted this just as much as she did.

Their kiss escalated until both knew where it would undoubtedly go unless they stopped it. Lisbon had no qualms as to where this was leading, but Jane knew what had to be done, even if he wasn't too happy with it. Jane pulled away regretfully.

"We shouldn't do this." Jane whispered.

"Why not? You want this, I want this. We're both consenting adults here." Lisbon said, placing another kiss to his lips. Jane reciprocated but once again cut it short.

"Teresa, please. You know I want this but we can't, not like this." Jane said.

"Please Jane. Please, I need this. You know I do. Please Patrick." Lisbon whispered against his lips. She captured his lips once more and this time Jane was helpless to stop it, he didn't even want to. He invaded her mouth with his probing tongue, giving her what she wanted: his acquiescence. His hand roamed, searching for the edge of her shirt so he could remove it. He couldn't deny himself what the woman he loved was so willingly offering?

They continued for a while, until a brief pause brought Jane back to his senses. Lisbon didn't know that he loved her and following through with this would just make things messy. He wouldn't do that to her.

"I'm sorry. We have to stop." Jane said. Pulling away from her enough so that she couldn't weave her web around him once more.

"Ugh. Patrick this is you fault. You made me like this, made me want you just by looking at me. You turned me on, now I need you to turn me off." Lisbon said, frustrated.

"I can't do that Teresa." Jane said, it almost physically hurt him to deny her anything but he knew that he would never forgive himself if he didn't and it ruined their friendship.

"And why not?" Lisbon asked.

"Because I can't just give you meaningless sex. I care about you, and I don't want to just have some fling with you. I care so much more than I ever thought possible and I don't want to lose you." Jane said.

"You won't lose me. Please." Lisbon said, trying to pull him close once more. She knew what power she held over him, if she could get him close enough then she would change his mind.

"It's not that simple." Jane said.

"It never is with you." Lisbon said with a small smirk.

"No, it isn't." Jane said. "I just, I don't want just one night with you. I want to be able to hold you, and kiss you and love you everyday."

"What if you could?" Lisbon said tentatively. "What if you could love me everyday?"

"What are you saying?" Jane asked, his heart filling with hope.

"Are you going to make me spell it out for you?" Lisbon asked.

"I'm afraid so my dear. I want to hear you say it so that you can't take it back later." Jane said.

"Fine. I, I care about you, I have for a while and I want us to try something. But if you don't finish what you've started here, so help me I will kick your sorry ass all the way to Timbuktu and back." Lisbon said. Jane's only response what to kiss her with a renewed passion and whisk her off to their bed.

* * *

**Was that alright? I hope everything made sense, if you have a question feel free to ask. I'll do my best to clear anything up. Oh! Let me just say that I personally don't know much about pregnancy and everything in this story is what I've heard or read on the internet. :) Until next time.**


	8. Not That

**Okay I'm back on my some-what routine updating of once a week or so. I hope you're proud of me because I am so proud of myself for updating as I had planned to. This chapter is a little short, but I think it makes up for it in content. Well, how about you let me know if it's up to your standards once you've read it?**

Life or Death

Lisbon and Jane awoke in the same position as they usually did, since he'd moved into her house and her bed, but this time they were devoid of barriers. Physical as well as metaphorical barriers had all been torn down the night before and they both knew it. This was big, not to be swept under the rug with the rest of their unresolved issues and feelings. No, this was something that they needed to discuss, if only briefly, so that they were both on the same page. And in true Jane form, he decided that there was no time like the present.

"Teresa." Jane said softly.

"Shh, I'm asleep." Lisbon mumbled into his chest.

"No you're not, honey. You've been awake for a while now." Jane said with a small chuckle.

"Can't you just leave me in peace a while longer?" Lisbon complained. Jane revelled in the fact that Lisbon considered the two of them cuddling in their birthday suits 'at peace'.

"I'm afraid not. But after this small talk, you can go back to enjoying my bare presence in your bed for as long as you'd like." Jane said with a smirk.

"Fine. What do you want to talk about?" Lisbon asked, as if she didn't already know. She didn't want to be the one to broach this subject and Jane respected that. If he could remove even one small burden from her strained shoulders, then he'd do it in a heartbeat. Especially after all he'd put her through.

"Did you mean it?" Jane whispered, his vulnerability evident in his voice.

"Did I mean what?" Lisbon asked.

"Last night, when you said you cared. Did you mean it?" Jane asked, his voice even smaller if that was possible.

"Do you think I'd say it if I didn't?" Lisbon said.

"I'm pretty sure you would have said anything I wanted to hear." Jane said with a self-conscious laugh.

"Not that." Lisbon said, tilting his head so that he was looking her in the eyes. Once she was convinced that he'd understood and believed her, she lifted her head to meet his lips in a tender caress, one that was over too soon in Jane's opinion.

"Thank you." Jane said, kissing her once more. He kissed her lips, her cheek, her forehead, anywhere he could think of. "You have no notion of how good it is to hear you say that."

"How about you show me?" Lisbon said with a mischievous grin upon her face. Jane leaned in to kiss her once more, but was halted by a finger to his lips when there were mere inches between them. "By making me breakfast."

"My, my Teresa, where have you been hiding this side of you? You are quite the minx my dear." Jane said, scurrying after the pregnant woman out of the bedroom and down the stairs. "What shall it be? Hot cereal? Pancakes? Waffles? Bacon? Eggs? All of the above?"

"Mmm, how about eggs? Oh and blueberry pancakes? Or eggs on pancakes?" Lisbon said uncharacteristically enthusiastic about breakfast this morning. Jane decided it had more to do with the night before than the morning after.

"Would you like fries with that? Or maple syrup?" Jane said.

"Funny." Lisbon said, lightly smacking him on the chest as she walked by to get out the cranberry juice that she'd started main-lining since she was forced to quit coffee like a bad addiction. She drank the herbal teas when she craved something hot, but for reasons unknown, she'd taken a liking to cranberry juice. Jane couldn't make sense of it either.

"I'm serious, the cashiers from the grocery store don't even give me weird looks anymore when I buy the ingredients for the concoctions you call food." Jane said teasingly. "It's become a real problem."

"No one's making you go out to the grocery store at all hours of the night just to satisfy my cravings." Lisbon said innocently.

"Please. We both know you wouldn't go get them yourself and you are extremely vocal about what you want, when you want it." Jane said, knowing that the double meaning would elicit that precious blush of hers that he held so near and dear to his heart. It would also earn him a small bruise from whatever object she decided to throw his way, but it was a small price to pay.

"You had better not make any comments like that at work or you will not be sleeping in my bed." Lisbon said warningly, after throwing a nearby pencil in Jane's general direction.

"As you wish my dear. And you needn't worry; I value my life too much to embarrass you at work. I know how hard you work to earn the respect of your coworkers in the male-dominated field you've chosen to work in. I wouldn't undermine you like that." Jane said sincerely.

"It never stopped you before." Lisbon said.

"I didn't have so much to loose before." Jane said simply. It was true, if she'd held power over him before, it was nothing compared to that which she wielded now. She'd but imply that he'd be sleeping on the couch instead of with her and he's do anything she asked. Well, almost anything.

"Good to know." Lisbon said with a grin. "So what are we going to do today?"

"Well, since it is Sunday…" Jane started. A small smile graced his face as he looked down at the pancake mix he was currently stirring.

"Yes…" Lisbon urged when he didn't continue.

"And we have no place to be…" Jane said, not showing any sign of finishing this sentence without provocation either.

"Just spit it out Jane." Lisbon said, getting frustrated. She rarely called him by his last name outside of work but when she was angry or frustrated, it always managed to sneak its way into her words.

"I was thinking we could find a way to enact that long-standing fantasy of yours. You know, the one with your handcuffs?" Jane said innocently. Lisbon audibly choked on her cranberry juice, the juice raining red into the sink in front of her.

"How did you..."

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**:D If you liked this chapter as much as I liked writing it, let me know in a review! Or if even if you didn't, because I think it would be hard to like it as much as I did. But give it your best effort.**


	9. The Baby

**Wow, has it been a long time or what? It took me forever to decide what I wanted to do with this chapter and even longer to write it! My mind has just been bouncing with ideas, I didn't know which one to use! Plus I'm a hopeless procrastinator. But good-ish news: Only a few more chapters left! And definitely more than a few more curveballs. Just when you thought I'd layed out all the rules, I change the game. :P But first and foremost, a fluff chapter! :D Enjoy!**

Life or Death

Lisbon was lying in bed, just staring at the ceiling. It was a Saturday and she was on maternity leave so neither she nor Jane had anywhere to be. Lisbon was just enjoying the feeling of being in Jane's arms, she felt relaxed and it took her mind off of her back pain. She let her mind wander, not thinking of anything in particular, just enjoying the morning and the rays of sun shining through the curtains.

Then suddenly, she bolted up into a sitting position, waking up the sleeping man beside her. She couldn't believe it, how could she have forgotten? How did she let it get this far without thinking of it?

"What is it dear?" Jane murmured groggily. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and sat up to mirror Lisbon.

"I forgot. I can't believe it. It's so important, how could I not have…? I've had so much on my mind. You, you distracted me. That must be it. How else could I have forgotten?" Lisbon muttered, more to herself than anything. She spoke without anger, just confusion for what had happened or rather, not happened.

"I'm sorry my dear, but it seems my magic mind reading skills have taken a leave of absence this early on a Saturday morning. What, pray tell, are you talking about?" Jane asked.

"The name!" Lisbon exclaimed, as if it explained everything.

"Who's name?" Jane asked.

"The baby's name." Lisbon said.

"I wasn't aware the baby had a name." Jane said, confused.

"That's the point!" Lisbon said, dropping her face into her hands. Understanding dawned on Jane's face; he knew exactly what she was talking about. "I'm going to be a terrible mother; I haven't even named my child yet!"

"Hey, hey now, you are going to be a great mother. You don't need to have a name picked until the baby's born; you don't even know if it's a girl or a boy. Don't stress yourself out about this." Jane said while rubbing her shoulders soothingly.

"But normally parents have a name picked out for the baby if it's a girl and another for if it's a boy. And I don't have any!" Lisbon said, her voice rising.

"If it makes you happy, we can brainstorm right now." Jane said.

"Right now?" Lisbon asked, as if she wasn't sure what he meant.

"Yes, right here, right now." Jane said.

"Okay. How about you start?" Lisbon said.

"Sure. How about we start with boy's names? How does Daniel sound?" Jane asked. Lisbon crinkled her nose and shook her head.

"I know too many Daniels. Next." Lisbon said.

"You know, you're supposed to contribute to this brainstorm as well. If it's just me it's not a brain storm, it's like one lonely brain cloud." Jane said, teasingly.

"That doesn't even make sense." Lisbon said, unable to restrain her chuckle.

"Doesn't have to." Jane said, pressing a kiss to her hair.

"Well, I'll contribute when I get a good idea." Lisbon said. "Until then, we'll have to rely on your knowledge of names."

"Okay, how about Cody?" Jane asked.

"Cody? I don't know. I mean, it's a fine name, it just doesn't sound right for the baby…" Lisbon said, lost in her train of thought.

"Well what would you suggest?" Jane asked.

"Um, how about Aiden?" Lisbon said.

"Do you want to name the baby Aiden?" Jane asked.

"No. I like the sound, sort of but it's wrong. Now I'm the one not making sense." Lisbon said.

"I think I know what you mean. How about Adrian?" Jane suggested.

"Yea—Oh!" Lisbon said, clutching her stomach.

"What? What happened? Teresa?" Jane said, worried.

"The baby. The baby likes it." Lisbon said, a soft giggle escaping from her lips.

"Yeah? Well I guess it's decided then." Jane said with a smile.

"I guess it is. Oh! Or maybe not…" Lisbon said, her face suddenly scrunched up in pain.

"What? Teresa?" Jane said. The thought that he was losing his vocabulary passed through his head fleetingly.

"The baby." Lisbon said.

"Teresa?" Jane coxed when she didn't finish her thought.

"The baby, it's coming!" Lisbon said.

"What? But you're not due for another…" Jane said, unable to finish his sentence before Lisbon interrupted him.

"I don't care when I'm due, I'm telling you the baby's coming NOW!" Lisbon said.

"Okay, uh we have to go." Jane said, quickly pulling on some jeans.

"You think?" Lisbon said.

Xxxx

Grace, Rigsby and Cho sat in the waiting room of the hospital, having come as soon as they'd received a call from a frantic Jane saying that Lisbon was about to give birth. They'd only just got there a few minutes ago, silently agreeing to give their boss and friend some privacy during this sacred process. They would wait until she sent someone for them, most likely Jane.

They didn't have to wait long; Jane came running down the hallway with a giant grin plastered on his face soon after. They followed him to Lisbon's room where she lay in the hospital bed, holding her newborn baby. She smiled when she saw them enter cautiously. Grace was the first to speak.

"Congratulations, boss." Grace said with a smile.

"Thanks. And I think, Grace, that under the circumstances it would be alright if you called me Teresa." Lisbon said with a smile.

"Of course, Teresa." Grace said, as if testing it out.

"Would you like to hold her?" Lisbon offered.

"Her? You had a baby girl?" Grace asked, while nodding her acceptance to hold the newborn.

"Yes." Lisbon said, passing her baby to Grace.

"What did you name her?" Cho asked.

"Well, we didn't really think of a name for a girl…" Jane started.

"Adrianne. We're naming her Adrianne." Lisbon said with a smile. The fact that she'd said "we" didn't escape anyone's notice but her own.

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**I could have added more to this chapter, but after some consideration I decided to leave it like that. I felt like I've already left you with enough cliffhangers in other chapters. But as I said earlier, there will be plently of drama to come in the next/last few chapters. While we wait for the drama, how about you send me a review? Pretty please?**


	10. Trouble

**Wow, I'm actully updating in a reasonable amount of time! Please, hold your applause to the end. :p Thanks go to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I usually thank everyone individually, but it wasn't letting me for some reason, which was weird. So thank you! I'm pretty happy with this chapter and I'm excited to write the next one. :) Let me know what you think.**

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Life or Death

Lisbon lay on her hospital bed, just staring at her beautiful baby Adrianne. The team had long since left and Jane was grabbing some dinner upon her request. He hadn't eaten since that morning, refusing to leave her side for even a minute. He was so sweet sometimes, and she honestly didn't know what she would have done without him. He'd been so helpful during her pregnancy and he knew her well enough to know when she needed some space, like now.

"You're going to be quite the little trouble-maker, you know that? You'll create trouble before you can even say a word. So much, and you won't even realize you're doing that. But I love you anyway, and I always will. And really, it's not you making this trouble, it's me. I should have told him sooner. But how could I? What could I have said? I still don't know how I'll tell him, but he needs o know. This has been eating me up for a while. I'm so tired and the nurse will take you away soon so you can sleep in your bed, so I'll tell him tomorrow. I hope he doesn't hate me." Lisbon whispered to her newborn baby, not knowing that Jan was standing outside the door, hearing the last part of her monologue.

Jane couldn't believe that she'd kept a secret, a pretty big one from the sound of it, and he hadn't known. He'd been so focused on helping her out with anything he could that he hadn't been looking for something like this. What could it be? He honestly had no idea, and that scared him. He was Patrick Jane for God's sake; he was supposed to know everything that everyone else was thinking. She said she would tell him tomorrow so best not to dwell on it.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Jane said, schooling his expression into one that hadn't been eavesdropping on an intimate conversation.

"You're back! I'm alright, just tired." Lisbon said, a smile lighting up her face when he walked in, trying to hide any traces of guilt.

"You've had a long day. I thought you'd want some real food so I brought you some buttered chicken from that Indian place around the corner. It's quite good." Jane said handing her the take-out container he'd stashed behind his back.

"Thank you. I've been craving something savoury or spicy for a while now. How'd you know? Wait, don't answer that." Lisbon said, greedily opening the container and taking a bite.

Jane just smiled as he took Adrianne from Lisbon so that she could eat some real food. He knew that she wasn't a fan of hospital food, really, who was? He gazed down at Adrianne who had fallen asleep, wondering what secrets she could possibly be harbouring. Surely such an innocent creature couldn't posses something so terrible? Look at him, immediately going to worst-case scenarios. It was probably something like Adrianne had asthma or something equally tame.

If only he knew.

Xxxx

Lisbon was waking up from a troubled sleep plagued with dreams of her running towards her baby, only to find that she was still miles away. She was in between sleep and the land of the living, feeling alarmed. She jolted awake, sweating and frantically searching the room for her baby. She started to panic before remembering that he nurse had taken the newborn to the nursery for the night before Lisbon went to bed. That thought calmed her down a bit.

Jane couldn't sleep and was just pretending to sleep when he heard Lisbon rustling around in her bed. His eyes shot open and he saw her looking for something. He got up and walked to her side, sitting on the edge of the hospital bed.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Jane said, his voice laced with worry.

"Nothing, nothing, I just had a dream. That's all." Lisbon said, calming down bit by bit.

"What was your dream about?" Jane inquired.

"I was running towards Adrianne and she just kept getting farther away, I couldn't get to her." Lisbon said, her voice tapering off to barely a whisper.

"A little separation anxiety is normal; my wife had the same thing with Charlotte." Jane said, trying to reassure her.

"I guess." Lisbon said, a little unsure.

"Trust me, it will fade. Let see if we can't get a nurse to bring Adrianne to you." Jane said, getting up from the bed.

"Thank you." Lisbon said, looking at her hands sheepishly.

Jane walked out of her room and into the hallway towards the nurse's station around the corner. He saw that there were a few nurses there, including the one that had helped them yesterday. He walked up with a smile one his face. It's always easier to get others to help you if you make them feel at ease when you approach them.

"Good morning, isn't it?" Jane said as greeting.

"Yes it is Mr. Jane." The nurse that had handled Adrianne said.

"Teresa is feeling a tad bit anxious without her daughter this morning. Would you be able to get her from the nursery for us?" Jane said, laying on the charm.

"Of course Mr. Jane. Follow me." The nurse said. She grabbed the chart and led the way to the nursery. She went inside as Jane waited outside as he looked in through the window, trying to spot Adrianne. She came out of the nursery a few minutes later with the chart, but no baby.

"It seems that someone's already brought Adrianne to Ms. Lisbon. She's probably already in her room." The nurse said with a small smile before making her exit.

Jane walked back to Lisbon's room. Lisbon had always been independent; she still had some trouble letting him do things for her it seemed. He'd have to remedy that.

"You're going to have to let me do things for you occasionally if thing is going to work." Jane said, teasing her upon entering the room.

"What are you talking about Jane?" Lisbon said, confused.

"I'm talking about me going to get Adrianne only for you to get her yourself." Jane said.

"What are you talking about? I didn't get Adrianne, you were getting her." Lisbon said.

"No, we got to the nursery and another nurse had already gotten her for you…" Jane said, his sentence trailing off when he saw that Lisbon wasn't holding Adrianne.

"She wasn't there?" Lisbon shouted. "Jane, if this is some cruel joke then it is NOT funny!"

Jane rushed out of the room without a word, running to the nurse's station. He ignored Lisbon calling after him as he ran.

"What nurse took Adrianne from the nursery?" Jane said as soon as he got there.

"What? Mr. Jane what's the matter?" The nurse asked.

"Adrianne isn't in the room; the nurse who took her from the nursery did not give her to Teresa. So who was it?" Jane said, seething.

"It was one of our new nurses, he just started yesterday I believe. At least, that's what he told me. I don't remember his name." The nurse said. "I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding, Mr. Jane. We'll sort it out."

"This is no misunderstanding! Someone took our baby!" Jane said.

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**Dun dun dun! Oh no! Well, I promised drama, did I not? I think this was a success. There'll only be two chapters after this, I think. Let me know what thoughts passed through your head while reading this, I'm very curious about who you think is behind this mess. :)**


	11. Raindrops

**First off, let me just say that FF is really giving me some trouble with regards to review replies! I'm going to get on that and figure it out because half he fun of getting reviews is replying to them. So a big thank you for all of you who reviewed the last chapter and were patient enough to wait for this one. I know I left you guys with a bit of a cliffhanger last time and I'm sorry it took me a while to post this chapter. I had planned to get this done and posted almost a week ago but I've have a hectic week and a bit. But the strangest thing happened tonight, I didn't have ANY homework whatsoever! It was weird but I seized my opportunity and voila! I new chapter pour vous. Oh, I've been rambling again. Sorry. On with the show!**

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Life or Death

Congratulations. The balloon was floating in the corner of the room, tied to a sand-filled weight to keep it from flying away. So it was just swaying from side to side, staring at her, mocking her. In what universe was this situation one to be congratulated? Someone had taken her baby before she'd even been able to process the reality that her baby girl was finally here. How dare someone rip that away from her! How could anyone take something as precious as a newborn baby?

Of course, Lisbon knew the answer to that. She'd seen many a time that there were no boundaries when it came to crime. But it had been so much easier to accept when she'd been the one fighting crime than it was to be the one fallen victim to it. She couldn't fathom how this could have happened; she was a CBI agent for crying out loud!

The worst part was that she couldn't do anything about it. The hospital was flooded with law enforcement officers of all sorts trying to find Adrianne and none of them would let her help. She was a damn good agent, she would be a strong asset to have on their team but they refused to let her get involved, muttering something about her hormones and policy every time she asked. Just because she'd just given birth the other day and felt like a part of her had been ripped away did not mean that she was incompetent. She had to protect her baby, if she couldn't protect her from being taken then she had to find her. Surely they understood that, surely they could make an exception to their stupid policy?

Apparently not, as the only comfort she had was in the form of Jane's hand that she was slowly squeezing the life out of. She couldn't just sit down and do nothing. She got up from the hospital bed in which she was residing and started to pace. She didn't get very far what with the limited space they were confined in and she was starting to give Jane a mild case of whiplash.

"Teresa, honey, you need to stop." Jane said softly, not able to muster enough energy to put any authority into his tone. Lisbon just ignored him and continued to pace until a visitor knocked on their door.

Van Pelt opened the door to the room and walked in, followed closely by Rigsby and Cho. They'd been doing what they could on the case but they weren't officially on the case so they'd had to rely on the professional courtesy of the others working the case.

"What is it? Did you find something?" Lisbon asked in a hoarse whisper before anyone could so much as open their mouth.

"No boss, I'm sorry. The name of the nurse who took Adrianne was a fake and the address they had on file for him is a dead end as well. I'm sorry boss." Van Pelt explained.

"That's not good enough! My baby is missing and all you have is an 'I'm sorry'? What am I supposed to do with that? You're apologies won't bring her back!" Lisbon yelled, tears streaming down her face. She hated that her emotions could do this to her, that they could turn her into this crying, quivering mess. She wasn't like this; she was in control of her feelings and emotions. Not today. Today her emotions had turned coats.

"She doesn't mean that Grace. Teresa, look at me." Jane said, turning his attention to Lisbon. "Taking your anger and frustration out on the team isn't going to solve anything. You need to calm down."

"Calm down? You want me to calm down? How can I calm down? How can you be so calm, Patrick. Please tell me how you can be calm when our baby is missing!" Lisbon cried, her voice steadily picking up volume. Jane pulled her into his arms where she collapsed against him, sobbing. She couldn't hold herself up anymore, she couldn't hold back the tears so she wept, curled into Jane's side.

Cho was the first to leave, but the others quickly followed. They didn't like intruding on such a personal moment and they knew their boss wouldn't be happy once she gained full control of herself once more. They knew that there was nothing to be ashamed of, acting as she did but they also knew that she would see that moment as an act of weakness, not one of humanity. So they got back to work, doing everything they could to find the son-of-a-bitch that took Adrianne. They needed their boss to be whole again.

Xxxx

Jane and Lisbon lay in the hospital bed that was too small for the both of them. They didn't care that they were almost falling off, or that the side was digging into them almost painfully, all they cared about was finding temporary reprieve from this hell they were in.

"Our baby." Jane whispered, his voice laced with confusion.

"Huh?" Lisbon grunted.

"You said 'our baby', not 'the baby' or 'my baby' as you usually do. You said 'our baby'." Jane said, a little louder than before so that she didn't miss it.

"What does it matter Jane? She's not here." Lisbon said, her voice thick from crying.

"It matters a great deal, Teresa. Why the sudden change?" Jane asked.

"I really don't think this is a good time…" Lisbon muttered.

"What else are we going to do? All we're doing now is torturing ourselves with 'what ifs', 'could haves' and 'should haves'." Jane said.

"You're going to hate me." Lisbon said in a small voice.

"I'm not going to hate you. I could never hate you." Jane said, pressing a kiss to her hair, reassuring her.

Xxxx

_Lisbon stood outside in the pouring rain, getting soaked to the bone but it didn't bother her. If anything, is relieved her. No one would be able to distinguish her tears if her face was already covered in raindrops. The door in front of her opened to reveal a started Jane. His hair was mussed in a way that she would have found endearing on any other given day but today all that registered was that he must have been sleeping or trying to at least. _

"_Lisbon. What are you doing here? It's—are you crying? Come here." Jane said. He pulled her into his arms and into his room, sheltering her from the rain. "You're soaking wet. Why are you here?"_

_What a question. Why did she walk in the pouring rain to a run down motel where her pain-in-the-ass consultant may or may not be at two o'clock on a Saturday morning? The answer was as simple as the question._

"_Because I need to talk to you. I needed to see you." Lisbon said, swallowing her tears for the time being. There were only a handful of times when she'd felt like this, when she'd cried like this, but she knew from those few times that these tears could not be stopped, only paused._

"_What is it?" Jane asked, his voice laced with concern. He pulled away from their embrace so that he could see her face. He wiped away some straggling tears from her cheek and looked into her bloodshot eyes. _

"_Michael. It's—I think he's… I think he may be… cheating on me." Lisbon said, turning her head away. She couldn't meet his eyes; it was hard enough coming here in the first place. _

"_Teresa…" Jane began, sympathy in his eyes. _

"_I didn't come here for your pity." She snapped. She moved away from him and stood near the door. "I could have gone to anyone else for that. No, I'm here because I need you to tell me if I'm right." _

"_You need me to… I'm sorry Lisbon but how do you expect me to do that?" Jane asked, taken aback. _

"_It's what you do, Jane. You're paid to do this at work and I'm asking you to do it now." Lisbon continued._

"_I don't even know the guy!" Jane protested._

"_Sure you do. You two have talked when he picked me up at work." Lisbon said, each point increasingly valid. _

"_For not even five minutes!" Jane said, desperately clinging to any excuse he could._

"_That's more than you need to piss off the local sheriffs and high-profile suspects on a case." Lisbon said. She was getting her answers and she was getting them now._

"_Fine. Just let me remember." Jane conceded. He closed his eyes, no doubt wandering around that mental palace of his or coming up with a formidable lie, which one, she'd never know. She had to trust him on this, she had no choice. "He seemed like he ewas hiding something."_

"_I knew it." Lisbon hissed._

"_No, no. Not like an affair, something more exciting for him. Maybe he's planning something special? I don't know." Jane said. _

"_How can you tell?" Lisbon asked._

"_I don't know, it just feels different. It didn't feel like an affair." Jane said, baffled by this recollection. _

"_How can you be sure?" Lisbon asked meekly._

"_I can't be. I'm sorry." Jane said solemnly. _

"_He's hiding something from me." Lisbon stated. She'd known something was up; he'd seemed distant and distracted lately. "I don't like feeling like this."_

"_No one does." Jane said. He walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He couldn't gauge her reaction but when she placed her hand atop his, he knew it was alright. _

_She turned to face him and wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face in her neck, wanting to feel wanted. She'd felt ignored for weeks and she just needed, she just needed to be needed. If she were analysing her actions that's what she would have come up with. It seemed like a good excuse for what she did next at least._

Xxxx

"I'm sorry I kept it from you. I shouldn't have and I feel horrible about it but I was just scared you'd be mad or you wouldn't want…" Lisbon rambled.

"I know, I get why you kept this from me but…" Jane said. Before he got the chance to finish that sentence there was a knock on the door.

"Boss, Jane, we've got something." Van Pelt said.

"What is it?" Lisbon asked, a shadow of hope clouding her eyes.

"We have a picture of the nurse from his hospital ID card." She said. "You're not going to believe this."

* * *

**You didn't think I'd start being nice now did you? I love my secrets and cliffhangers too much to show my hand all at once. Next chapter will be the last and I will get it up soon, I promise! This time I really will keep my promise because I plan to have this done before summatives and exams get going. So how about you let me know who you think is behind all of this and/or how you think Jane will react to this BIG NEWS once he gets the chance. :) Thank you for reading and sticking with this story.**


	12. Hope

**Oh my goodness! How long has it been? Like three or four days? Wow! This is really fast for me, especially considering this chapter is almost three times as long as the others! Well, at least in pages. Seriously, it's like ten pages on Microsoft Word. Well this is the epic finale and there was just so much I wanted to include and I kept adding more. I hope it was worth it. Thank you to everyone who reviewed any and every chapter in this story, I honestly loved every single review. They make my heart smile. I've said it before and it's still true. You know when your chest feels all funny inside almost like your heart is getting bigger and it's a good feeling? That's what your reviews do to me. Seriously. And now you guys have got me addicted. So I won't be able to stay away from the FF scene for long, I'll need my fix of writing and reviews. So any of you that like how I write, do not fret, I will write more. Okay, enough of my gratitude, onto this epic, monster finale to Life or Death.**

* * *

Life or Death

"_We have a picture of the nurse from his hospital ID card." She said. "You're not going to believe this."_

"What do you mean I'm not going to believe it? I'll believe anything that'll get our daughter back." Jane exclaimed, causing Van Pelt's brow to furrow.

"Did you run it through facial recognition?" Lisbon asked, still in shock but more in control of herself now that she'd relieved some of the weight off her shoulders.

"We didn't have to. We knew who he was the moment we saw the picture. We have a B.O.L.O. out and it won't be long before we find him." Van Pelt said.

"For God's sake, who kidnapped Adrianne?" Jane asked. He was becoming more on edge each passing minute and Van Pelt could understand that. She'd been just outside when Lisbon had dropped the bomb on him and she had to say that she'd be freaking out as well if she'd just received the same information that he had.

"Michael. Michael kidnapped Adrianne. He escaped from prison, I just confirmed it with the prison warden, and he knew someone who gave him the job no questions asked. We've got his guy heading to the CBI for interrogation. Gary Harrison was his name, he's in charge of the personnel here at the hospital and he had access to your medical records. That's how Michael knew which hospital you'd be at." Van Pelt said.

"Thank you, Van Pelt. Go catch the son of a bitch. Bring my baby back." Lisbon said. She would give anything to be able to go with them to interrogate this Gary Harrison and save Adrianne herself but she was on strict orders from the doctor to stay put. She knew that putting up a fuss would just waste precious time that they needed to find her daughter. So she would wait, it would kill her a little inside but she would wait.

Xxxx

Van Pelt was in the SUV with Rigsby in the passenger seat and Cho at the wheel. They were on their way to the CBI to interrogate their suspect, well their suspect's accomplice.

"So let me get this straight. Michael, Lisbon's psycho-serial-killer-ex-boyfriend escaped from jail to kidnap her daughter? Why?" Rigsby asked. "I thought he wanted to kill Lisbon, why kidnap her daughter?"

"Because he thinks it's his daughter? I don't know." Van Pelt responded.

"Well then he's right. It is his daughter. But I didn't really peg him for a family man." Rigsby said.

"I can't tell you what he's thinking, but I can tell you that he's wrong. The baby isn't his." Van Pelt shared.

"What? But Lisbon was seeing him for six months before he tried to kill her, at which time she found out she was about a month pregnant. Explain to me how the hell it wouldn't be his child." Rigsby said.

"About four or five months into her relationship with Michael, she suspected him of cheating on her. She sought Jane out for comfort… and that's exactly what he gave her." Van Pelt informed her teammates.

"What? How does that…" Rigsby started, not understanding the connotations of her words.

"They had sex." Cho said.

"So it's Jane's baby?" Rigsby asked.

"Yes." Van Pelt said.

"Whoa. Didn't see that one coming. Did you guys?" Rigsby asked, grabbing some of the fries left over from their lunch.

"Yes." The two answered simultaneously.

"I guess Red John was more right than we knew." Rigsby muttered.

"What? What are you talking about?" Van Pelt asked, alarmed.

"'_You two look so cozy sharing a house, sharing a bed, and expecting your first child together. It really is too cute. Someone really should do something about that, and I know just the guy._' Ring any bells?" Rigsby stated.

"The creepy letter Lisbon received months ago. How did you remember that?" Van Pelt asked, astonished.

"Jane has showed me a few tricks over the years." Rigsby said.

"Couldn't get rid of that memory palace?" Cho asked.

"No…" Rigby said,

Xxxx

"You, Gary, are going to tell us where Michael is." Cho said across the table. They didn't have time to waste so Cho was interrogating the accomplice. Everyone knew that if you needed a suspect cracked, Cho was your man.

"I'm not telling you anything." Gary said stubbornly.

"You and I both know that you will. Once I apply the right threat, say to send you away to prison for the rest of your sorry life, you'll tell me everything I need to know. So how about we skip all that good stuff and get straight to the point? Where is Michael?" Cho said with his face of steel.

"You have no idea what he'll do to me…" Gary said. For all he was, he was not someone able to stand up to people. That was how he'd ended up in this mess in the first place.

"I have an idea. But as scary as Michael is, I know that my boss, the woman whose child Michael kidnapped, is a hell of a lot scarier. And don't even get me started on the father." Cho said.

"The father? Michael's the father. He's only trying to be with his baby girl." Gary said, his eyes darting around the room, unable to focus on any one thing.

"You see, that's where you're wrong. It's not his baby, never was. He's kidnapped an innocent child and once he figures out that he's not the father, what do you think he's going to do to her?" Cho said. "So you're going to tell me where they are and you're going to tell me right now."

"I can't." Gary whispered.

"Well then, I hope you enjoy prison." Cho said, getting up to leave.

"No, you don't understand. It's not that I don't want to tell you; it's that I don't know. He didn't tell me where he was going." Gary said.

Cho walked out of the interrogation room, heading for the bullpen. He couldn't believe it. Couldn't they just catch a break? It was the boss's daughter; they had to bring her back alive.

"Did you get anything?" Rigsby asked upon Cho's entrance into the bullpen.

"Nothing." Cho said. "He doesn't know anything."

"Man." Rigsby exclaimed, banging his fist on the desk in frustration.

"Guys." Van Pelt said from her desk. She'd been working her magic on the computer for the past twenty minutes to no avail.

"What?" Cho asked. He crowded around her desk along with Rigsby. They were bordering on desperate.

"I checked all Gary's known addresses, the police said there was nothing there, not that I expected much. But I didn't find out that the two, Gary and Michael, were from the same town and after a little more digging I found that they went to the same school. So after calling up Gary's mother, she told me that they were best friends and still were to her knowledge. So I was thinking, if your friend needed help what would you do?" Van Pelt explained, talking as fast as her tongue allowed her while still being coherent.

"Give them what ever they need." Rigsby provided.

"Exactly. And what do newly escaped prisoners need?" Van Pelt said.

"A place to stay?" Rigsby guessed.

"Cash." Cho said.

"Exactly, so I checked Gary's bank accounts for recent withdrawals of a suspicious amount. There were none so I checked his credit cards. One was just used ten minutes ago in a variety store not too far from here. I've informed the local L.E.O.'s of this and they're searching abandoned buildings. They'll call when they've got something." Van Pelt said.

"Let's go." Cho said. "We're not going to sit around while Lisbon and Jane's daughter is missing. Come on."

Xxxx

Lisbon lay in her hospital bed, her nerves stretched to the max. Jane had left soon after Van Pelt, mumbling something about needing time to think. She understood that, she really did, but that didn't take away from the sting of rejection she felt when he walked out that door.

She felt alone, not only in the physical sense. Before, she could still feel Jane when he was gone, he was on her side, and he was coming back. But now, she didn't know f he was coming back or not and he was definitely not on her side. Not after she kept something like this from him. She should have told him, but how could she? It wasn't something to be brought up casually. Hey, Jane, I know you thought my baby was Michael's but guess what? It's yours. Not likely.

She could only hope that he would return. She could only hope that the team would bring her baby back safely. She could only hope. Man this sucked.

Xxxx

Van Pelt, Rigsby and Cho were at the last abandoned warehouse in the area. Everywhere else had been checked and revealed nothing. They waited for the head of police to give the go ahead before entering the warehouse. Once the signal was given, they stormed through the warehouse, flashlights on and guns raised. Every member of the cavalry was wearing their bulletproof vests upon the explicit orders of the head of police.

The trio turned a corner, splitting away from the group to go down a hallway. At the end of the hallway there was a door. They moved to their positions on either side of the door, Rigsby on one side and Cho with Van Pelt on the other. Cho kicked in the door and they filed in the room. They all just stared in silence, shocked at what they saw.

"Call Lisbon." Cho said.

Xxxx

Lisbon was sitting in the chair, staring out the window. She'd had enough of sitting on the bed and she needed a change of scenery but they hospital staff didn't trust her not to run away if they let her outside. They were probably right.

She heard a noise that broke her out of her daze. Jane still hadn't come back and she was getting worried. It took her a second before she realized that the noise that had interrupted her musings was still going and that that sound was her phone.

"Lisbon." She answered curtly.

"Boss, it's Rigsby." Said the voice on the other end of the line.

"Hey Rigsby. Anything new?" She asked anxiously.

"Sort of. Gary didn't know anything but he lent Michael his credit card. He got a hit at a variety store so we checked all local abandoned warehouses in the area. You know, in case he was hiding out in any of them. And we got nothing." Rigsby said, dejected.

"Oh. Well at least you guys are doing something. That's more than we can say for me." Lisbon said. She'd gotten her hopes up when Rigsby started talking about what they'd found out. She was beginning to think that disappointment was one of the worst things in the world. But she knew firsthand that losing a child or a loved one topped it all.

"Boss, listen to me because I'm only going to say this once. You have not done anything wrong; this is not your fault. By letting us take care of it, you are doing so much for your daughter. I can't imagine what you're going through but I do know that you don't have a clear head, understandably so. So I'm telling you that you are doing the best thing you can for your daughter. I don't want you thinking otherwise. Where's Jane? He should be talking sense into you, not me." Rigsby said.

"He's, um… he's gone." Lisbon muttered, her voice cracking on the last word.

"He'll come back. He always does." Rigsby said. Lisbon didn't get to experience this side of him very often, at all really, and she was pleasantly surprised at how good he was at this. His words could have been spoken by anyone else and had no impact on her but paired with his reassuring tone it got through to her. She felt herself starting to believe it.

"Thanks Rigsby." She said.

"Welcome, boss. Hey boss, just a second I think Grace has something." Rigsby said quickly. Lisbon heard some shuffling on the other end and some inaudible voices talking. It was frustrating, not knowing what was happening and she almost voiced this but then Rigsby returned. "Boss, Gary's credit card was used in payment for a motel room. Gary's still here so it's most definitely Michael. I guess Grace was right; Michael must not have had any cash on him. We're heading out now. I'll call you with an update later."

Before Lisbon could say anything, the dial-tone rang in her ear. Great. Now she was even more on edge. But at least something was happening; at least this meant it was almost over.

Xxxx

"How do you suggest we proceed?" The head of the SWAT team asked Cho.

"I'll go in with Rigsby and attempt to negotiate. You'll have your sniper ready to take him out if he doesn't co-operate. Remember, there's most likely a child in there with him, a baby, so we have to get this right." Cho said. He walked over to where Rigsby and Van Pelt were setting up.

"What's the plan?" Van Pelt asked.

"Rigsby and I are going in to try to talk him into giving us Adrianne while the sniper gets ready to take the shot in case it goes south." Cho said. Upon Van Pelt's expression he added further explanation. "I didn't think it was a good idea for you to go in, knowing what he does to women."

"Good point, he would get worked up and no one wants that." Van Pelt said. No matter how long it had been since she joined the team, she still sometimes felt the need to prove herself. But she was getting better at putting those feelings aside when she had to and this situation was no time for those feelings to surface.

"Good. Let's go." Cho said to Rigsby. The two went up the stairs to the second floor of the motel. They approached the room cautiously. Cho rapped on the door.

"Michael, open up. CBI." He yelled. When there was no response, he used the master key that he'd gotten from the manager and opened the door. "CBI!"

"Hey, quite down. She's sleeping." Michael said, rounding the corner from the bathroom with Adrianne in his arms.

"Michael, I need you to but Adrianna down and back away. Put her in the crib and put your hands on your head." Rigsby ordered.

"I don't think so. She's my daughter and I plan to keep her a while." Michael said, staring at the baby's face with an expression that looked something like fondness. Almost.

"But she's not." Cho said. He knew full well that aggravating Michael could end in two ways, one of which was not good, not good at all.

"What are you talking about? Of course she's mine." Michael said, only fazed slightly. Adrianne started crying and he began to rock Adrianne in his arms gently.

"She's not, and we have a paternity test to prove it." Rigsby bluffed.

"You're lying." Michael said.

"No he's not; it's back in the car. Come with us and we'll show you." Cho coaxed.

"I don't believe you; Teresa was with me when she got pregnant." Michael said, brushing off their words.

"What do you think she was doing when you were off killing those women?" Rigsby taunted.

"I know who she wasn't doing, any other man while I was away." Michael said, getting irritated.

"She's a grown up woman, a woman with needs. Don't think she wouldn't think twice fulfilling those needs without you." Cho said, internally cringing about talking about the boss like that.

"You're, you're lying." Michael said, his face getting red. It was clear that he wasn't calm and in control anymore.

"Oh but he's not." Rigsby said.

"You want to know who the real father is?" Cho asked.

"No, no. You're wrong." Michael said, getting angrier by the second. He put Adrianne in the crib beside him, pulled a gun from where it was concealed at the waist and pulled the trigger.

But he wasn't the only one.

Xxxx

Lisbon's head whipped up from where it was resting in her palms when she heard someone knocking on the door. She perked up, hoping it was Jane behind the door coming to tell her that he forgave her for keeping her secret from him and that he loved her. Yeah right.

"Boss, it's Van Pelt. I've got someone here who wants to see you." Grace said with a giant grin on her face as she opened the door and entered the room with Adrianne in her arms.

"Adrianne!" Lisbon shouted, getting up from where she was sitting by the window and running over to Van Pelt. She took Adrianne in her arms and placed a kiss atop her head. She gave Van Pelt a semi-awkward one-armed hug while holding Adrianne in the other. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for bringing my baby back."

"No problem." Van Pelt said, hugging her back before letting her go.

"What happened?" Lisbon asked after the initial shock of getting her baby back had worn off slightly.

"Cho and Rigsby went to the room to try to get Michael to give her up. It wasn't easy, they had to change tactics but they got him to put Adrianne down in the crib, out of harms way. He pulled out a gun but before he could harm anyone the sniper on the roof of the motel across the road shot him. He didn't make it." Van Pelt summarized.

"Thank you for getting her back safely. Tell the guys thanks too." Lisbon said, her attention going back to Adrianne.

"Will do boss." Van Pelt said. She saw the tears of joy running down Lisbon's face and excused herself from the room.

When she walked out of Lisbon's room, she was met with Cho and Rigsby drinking coffee. Rigsby extended the one in his other hand towards her.

"Thanks." She said. "This is just what I needed."

"Cheers to that." Rigsby said.

"Any sign of Jane?" Cho asked.

"No, and judging from the redness of Lisbon's eyes when I got there, I'd say he hasn't been there since she told him about Adrianne's parentage." Van Pelt said. "I hope he pulls his head out of his ass and gets his act together soon."

"Give the guy a break; she gave him one hell of a bombshell with that one." Rigsby said. "He probably just needs to sleep on it."

"He's a father now." Cho said. "He can sleep when he's dead."

Xxxx

Lisbon walked into the nursery with Adrianne to put her to sleep for the night. Van Pelt had dropped the two of them off at her place, offering to stay and help out to which Lisbon politely declined. She really just needed some time to herself tonight. She didn't think she'd be sleeping much tonight, with or without the help of her newborn baby.

"Looks like it's just you and me tonight, kiddo." Lisbon said, gently lowering Adrianne into her crib. Once she hit the soft mattress, Adrianne's eyes fluttered close. "Someone's a little sleepy huh? Well you've had quite the day, you deserve some rest."

Once it was clear that Adrianne was indeed sleeping, Lisbon grabbed the baby monitor and headed to the kitchen, wanting to grab a midnight snack. She'd just poured herself a glass of milk when the doorbell rang. She wasn't expecting visitors.

"Hey." Lisbon said when she opened the door to her unexpected visitor.

"Hey." Jane said. "Cho called me and told me that they brought Adrianne back safe and sound. Could I—could I see her?"

"Oh, yeah of course. She's your daughter too." Lisbon said, stepping aside to let him through the door. "You know, you can be as involved in her life as you'd like. I know that after Charlotte… well it's your call."

"What?" Jane asked, startled. He followed her to the nursery and looked on at the sleeping baby girl. A smile crossed his face when he saw her chest rise and fall in gently breaths. "I told you that I'm going to help you with this baby, her being mine only makes that statement even truer."

"I thought you'd left me." Lisbon whispered, looking down at her feet.

"You make that very hard, even temporarily. Look, I know how hard it must have been for you to keep that from me. You don't know how happy it made me to hear that she's mine and not Michael's. Thinking of him with you, his child in you, I didn't like it. Then to find out it's mine… I'm the happiest man in the world. Just, tell me one thing." Jane said.

"Anything." Lisbon said, she owed him that much.

"How did you know for sure that she was mine?" Jane asked.

"The note from Red John, well it freaked me out and I'd always had an inkling of a thought that it could possibly be your baby. Well, after that I asked my doctor to run a paternity test that only confirmed what I knew in my heart was true. Michael and I were careful, but with you… well you've never been one to play it on the safe side and you convince me every time." Lisbon muttered, blushing slightly.

"That long?" Jane asked.

"Yeah." Lisbon said.

"You've gotten quite good at pulling one over on me. I'm going to have to watch my back from now on." Jane said with a smirk.

"Does this mean you don't hate me?" Lisbon asked in a quiet voice.

"I think you'd find it quite hard hating someone you love." Jane said.

"You—you love me?" Lisbon squeaked. That caught her off guard.

"How could I not? I guess the question is if you love me too because I can guarantee that it's not going to be easy getting rid of me now." Jane said with an anxious glint in his eyes despite his teasing tone.

"You really don't know?" Lisbon asked. She stared up at him in wonder.

"How about you enlighten me?" Jane said.

"How about I let you suffer in ignorance?" Lisbon teased.

"Or… you could make this easier on both of us and just tell me." Jane said, inching his way closer to her.

"I don't know, I think I like knowing something you don't…" Lisbon said, unable to suppress her smirk. When she saw the discouraged look on Jane's face she let out a soft laugh. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you. But you should be grateful that I'm letting you in on this secret. I really don't know if you can handle it but here it is. Patrick Jane, I love you."

Jane enveloped her in a loving embrace and pressed a kiss to her sweet lips, silently promising her forever.

* * *

**Another story comes to an end. I do believe this was a successful story, definitely my favourite of mine so far. It's a little different than what I usually do, at least I think so, but I do think it turned out nicely. I have another story in the works but it's going slowly and it will just be one long one-shot. But I'm absoutely loving it! Just something to look forward to if you enjoy my style. Anyways, please leave a review! I'd love to know your overall impression of this fic, I love hearing from those who read this. Even if you've never reviewed this story before, I'd love to thank you individually for reading. I figured out how to reply again! Yay! So leave a review. Seriously, I won't bite... hard. :p Thanks again 3**


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